Breaking the Cycle
by EggRoyalty
Summary: Zai was done being Rika's replacement. She was also done living in that cramped apartment. It's time she finally made a real change in the lives of the RFA members.
1. Prologue

07/01/17 - Hi! I just finished this fic, so I'm updating all the chapters with the revised version from AO3. Future chapters will include my Authors Notes from the original! Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoy!

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Day 5 - 8:00 AM

Each morning she woke up to the chime of her phone. Every couple days she changed the ringtone so it would stay fresh in her mind. Something to break up the constant monotony of her endlessly repeating days.

/ **Yoosung** : Zai! You're online! Did you sleep well? /

A notification from Yoosung first thing in the morning would have brightened up her day instantly before, but now she responded with methodical, near-robotic grace.

/ **Zai:** Very well, thank you ^^ I hope you didn't stay up too late playing LOLOL again? /

/ **Yoosung** : I only went over my limit by a few hours! /

Zai smiled at her phone. No matter how many times she lived this life, Yoosung always made the days a little more bearable.

/ **ZEN:** Hey babe! I saw you in my dreams last night. Maybe we can have a real rendezvous sometime? /

At the appearance of one of her favorite people, she finally found enough energy to hop out of bed. Toting a thick duvet across her shoulders, she hastily sent out a reply while she set about making breakfast.

/ **Zai:** Zen! You were in my dreams too. However I don't think my imagination can do you justice, you're just so much more handsome in real life! ^^ /

/ **ZEN:** Aww, babe! You're gonna make it so hard for me to stay away from you until the party! /

Ah yes, the party. The same one she had arranged dozens of times. She'd practically memorized all of the guests at this point. Their likes, dislikes, what kind of personality she'd had to portray in order to peak their interest. It had all been done before.

Zai let part of the duvet slide to the floor while she busied herself by adding a myriad of different kinds of produce to her omelet with one hand while scrolling through the chat with the other.

/ **Jaehee Kang** : Zai, Zen, good morning. I hope you both had a restful night. /

There was Jaehee, ever the voice of reason and reassurance in the usually chaotic RFA chatroom.

/ **Zai:** Hey Jaehee! I slept like a baby last night, but I wish I had some of your coffee to keep me up so I could finish more of my work. /

Even though she always started off opposing Zai's budding relationship with Zen, she knew that it was all done with his best interests in mind. After all, with how much of a romantic Zen was, it would probably be pretty easy for someone to take advantage of him had they really wanted to.

/ **Jaehee Kang** : Oh! Perhaps at the party, I could show you how to brew the perfect cup for staying awake. Mr. Han left Elizabeth the 3rd at my house while he had me working on another cat project and I... /

Zai felt a pang of sympathy for Jaehee as she slid her now cooked omelet onto a plate and felt around the kitchen drawers for a fork while keeping up with the chat. Out of everyone in the RFA, she felt for her the most.

She continued to respond in between shoving forkfuls of egg, mushroom, and tomato into her mouth, while simultaneously pondering her situation.

She'd experienced their routes several times. Zen and Jaehee had been both her friends and sometimes a little bit more. At first, she didn't quite understand them, and her misunderstandings about who they really were led to ends that could be considered quite unpleasant by most. Yet she persevered, even when she achieved the best possible outcome, only to wake up the next day and realize she was back at the start.

There had been days where she had considered giving up completely. So what if there was a bomb installed in Rika's apartment. Zai felt like she had already died many times over with each dramatic reset of the clock.

/ **Yoosung** : Hey, where'd Zai go? She got quiet all of a sudden! /

Yoosung again. In a way, it was comforting to see how they worried about her, even though truly, it should have been the other way around.

Leaving her dirty dishes in the sink, she began planning. Today wouldn't be about responding to emails, nor would it even be about participating in the chatroom. Things were going to have to change unless she wanted to be trapped in this time loop forever.

Zai returned to her bedroom and pulled out the unused journal she had purchased at the thrift store the day before, along with the pen she had nicked from her bank. Flipping the journal open to the first page, she began to write. It wasn't the simplest plan, nor was it the easiest to execute, but if this didn't work, then she had no idea what would.

Looking out the window, she was surprised to see the sky already darkening. After retrieving her duvet back from the kitchen floor, and subsequently realizing she had forgotten to make herself dinner, Zai flopped onto her bed, staring at her phone's screen and tracing little hearts over Zen and Jaehee's icons before going back to catch up on all the chat logs she'd missed.

Her plan was risky, and there was a good chance that she might fail, but looking at their faces at the end of each cycle made it bearable. She'd do this, if not for herself, then for them.

Day 5 - 11:55 PM

She'd been up late putting the final touches on her plans when her phone chimed again.

Closing the journal and sliding it under her pillow, she grabbed her phone off the side table to check the notification.

"A private text?" She unlocked the screen and tapped on the (uninstallable, she'd tried) RFA app.

 _/I know what you're trying to do./_

Zai stifled a shout as she quickly glanced at the windows. Why was Unknown contacting her now?

She crawled under her blankets and stared at the screen; it's dim glow now ominous instead of comforting.

 _/ You know you can't save them, right? Only our Savior can help the chosen few into Paradise. You will fail. /_

/ **Zai:** That doesn't mean I can't try. /

 _/ . . . /_

 _/ Your efforts will be wasted. /_

With that response, he logged off.

Zai laid back in bed and considered the day's events. That was the first time something like that had ever happened. Perhaps she was already starting to change things? Before she would have immediately called Seven to report the presence of the hacker, but now she just felt tired. In a few minutes, she'd be back to the beginning, and she'd start putting her plan into motion.

Looking at her phone's screen once more, she noted the time. _11:59 PM._ She sighed.

Just once, she wanted to fix things.

Maybe this time, it would be better.

Day 5 - 11:59:99 AM

. . .

 _RESET_


	2. Common Route - Day 1 - Part 1

Day 1 - 07:28 AM

 _Morning! Morning Sunshine! Good Morning Sunshi-_

Zai grasped around blindly for her phone before finally reaching it and shutting off the alarm.

Peeling the thick blankets away from her body, she took the time to appreciate the soft covers of her old room. She leaned back and took a deep breath. _Smells like cinnamon and honey..._

After bringing the phone's screen back up to her face, she checked the time.

The RFA App had remained installed on her phone during all her resets, so she knew that Unknown could text her at any time and send her packing to Rika's apartment; meaning she had to get this part done fast.

Hastily throwing off the remaining covers, she bounced out of bed and began pulling on her most comfortable clothes. This time she'd at least have an extra outfit or two for excursions. She wouldn't be sitting idly inside that apartment like she'd done in the past.

After getting everything together, Zai paused at the door. Pulling out her phone once more, she made sure it was turned off before leaving the house that she knew she couldn't return to.

Standing at the gate and looking back towards the building she'd spent most of her life in, Zai felt a pang of remorse for so eagerly abandoning the life, and the person, she once was.

"I'm doing this for them. I have to remember this is all for them."

With that, she strode away.

Day 1 - 09:16 AM

Her first order of business was selling her old car. She'd always parked it in a structure several blocks away from the complex that Rika's apartment was located at, and never one to shy away from a short walk, Zai had never needed to use it very often, except for the few times she'd gone grocery shopping. Therefore, selling it was an important step in the next part of her plan.

She'd purchased an older model car for cheap with cash a little while later, and used it for the rest of the day. It was incredibly basic, lacking the features that most modern cars came equipped with, such as a built-in GPS system.

Next, she went about buying a few disposable phones, as well as a new smartphone for herself which she immediately synced to her old IM and HMail accounts. Ever since she had installed the RFA app, she hadn't been able to access her regular email or messaging programs. She wondered if anyone she knew had messaged her during those eleven repeating days she spent as a willing captive living in a deceased woman's apartment.

After she completed all of the tasks she had set out to do, Zai turned on her old phone and waited for the inevitable while checking the emails she'd received and consequently forgotten about after the whirlwind that was Rika's Fundraising Association came into her life.

Surprisingly, after sifting through the multiple token spam emails and texts from her parents (they'd moved to the UK after she became independent and had been living it up ever since), there was one left from her aunts. A pair of highly eccentric wildlife enthusiasts who had apparently retired and gone to Hawaii to spend the rest of their days among animals they'd never seen before. She wished them both the best, but the most interesting news was the fact that they had apparently left her a small estate about a three-hour drive away in the middle of the woods.

In their own words, it was "A minimalist hideaway that we spent many days in just watching the local fauna. The house fits in with the place so well that it's super easy to miss it, but we put up a few signs so that you can find your way there along with our directions". It was an incredibly generous gift by the two women, and considering her current situation, Zai wasn't about to waste it.

Turning off the GPS on her old phone, she emailed her aunts an enthusiastic 'thank you' before inputting the house's address on her new phone's navigation, and carefully driving to her destination.

Day 1 - 12:41 PM

Finally, she arrived at the spot where her aunts had said they'd placed the signs. Sure enough, there were a few picket stakes half buried into the ground painted a gaudy red color that anyone with a pair of semi-functioning eyes could see. She'd have to get rid of those later.

Coming up to the house, she could tell that they really weren't joking when talking about how well camouflaged the building was. The walls were made out of one-way glass that made the outside of the house reflect its surroundings, making it nearly impossible to detect by someone who didn't know what they were looking for.

The entrance to the house didn't seem to have a key, but a number pad similar to the one installed on the front door of Rika's apartment. She could only hope that this property didn't have a bomb buried under it either.

Bringing out her phone, she reread her aunt's email to double check if they had given her a number combination. No such luck. So what could they have used as a passcode? She stared at the numbers on the pad for a few seconds before automatically inputting a four digit code and almost jumping back when the door gave a positive sounding _beep_ of approval and unlocking for her.

 _. . . My birthday? Well, way to be cliché._

The inside of the house was quite impressive if she was being honest. It was sparsely decorated, but the simple kitchen, living room, and fireplace were homey and comfortably spaced. She noticed the loft from outside, but now she felt like a kid again and was eager to explore.

Zai spent the next couple hours learning the ins and outs of the building. It turned out there was a garage covered in some incredibly convincing fake foliage, and she made a reminder to herself to park her car there when she came back. There were four bedrooms, each with a king size mattress, and enough bed covers to make a decent nest out of. All in all, it was the perfect place for her. Too bad she couldn't use it for almost two weeks.

Stepping outside and locking the door behind her, Zai was startled by the sound of crunching leaves and _was that panting?_

Reacting quickly, she avoided being almost knocked over by a huge furry black missile.

"What the hey? Jammin'!?" Said furry black missile spun around and barked at her before giving her a huge doggy smile. Zai's face split into a grin as she knelt on the doorstep of the house as the large canine barreled right into her open arms and began slathering her face with sloppy kisses. "Aw come on! I know it's been a while but that's no reason to get me all dirty!" She was still laughing even as she stood and brushed the dead leaves from her pants and gave the coal colored dog a generous pat on the head. Jammin' was her aunt's dog, so what was he doing here?

Zai pulled out her phone and opened the email once more while fending off Jammin's savage kisses with her other hand. It wasn't until she scrolled down to the very bottom of the email that she noticed the postscript.

" _P.S. Zai, we couldn't bring Jammin' with us to Hawaii, so we left him with the estate. You've always wanted a dog of your own right?_ " She shook her head and knelt down to bury her fingers in the thick black coat.

"I'm sorry I left you here all alone before. Can you handle a few more days on your own? hm?" Jammin', who was still a dog, simply looked at her with regular doggy adoration before licking her face again. "Pfft! Down puppy!" She played with Jammin' while wandering around the exterior of the building and finally locating the small kennel situated behind the house itself. If she estimated correctly, it could have fit at least six dogs Jammin's size, or possibly more if they were smaller.

Apparently, there was a built-in food and water dispenser already installed within the building, and Jammin' was obviously trained well enough not to run away without any supervision if he was still here. She had no idea how long he'd been left on his own but he could clearly look after himself for at least a few days.

She refilled the dispensing mechanisms before washing up inside the house once more and packing away a few extra supplies, she had to get back soon or risk missing Unknown's text. Giving Jammin' one last loving pat, she departed.

On her way out, she pulled out the garish red stakes and threw them into the trunk of her car. She replaced them with a few reflective silver pins she'd found inside the house, embedding them in the trees that marked the entrance. Others probably wouldn't notice them, but she knew where they were in location to the house, so they would be easy to spot.

"Now that that's been taken care of...it's back to society with me." Zai dusted off her clothes and began the return drive to her former home.

Day 1 - 05:28 PM

She'd been a little over three-fourths of the way back when her old phone had buzzed ominously in her pocket. Pulling over to the side of the road, she took a deep breath and did her best to still her trembling fingers as she unlocked the screen and opened the RFA app. It was time for everything to start coming together.

/ **Unknown:** _...Hello...?_ /

/ **Zai:** ? /

/ **Unknown:** _Can you see this?_ /

/ **Zai:** Yes I can. /


	3. Common Route - Day 1 - Part 2

Day 1 - 09:04 PM

If there was one word to sum up her feelings for the day, it was probably 'exhausted'. It was still relatively early, but while lying in bed and looking at her phone's screen, all she could feel was the urge to sleep. She was finally back in Rika's apartment and once again an official member of the RFA.

While absentmindedly scrolling through the previous chats she'd managed to participate in, Zai considered her current circumstances. If she was still following her plan, then she had the next four days to get as close to Zen as possible. The self-reminder made her grimace as she thought of the sweet, hardworking Jaehee.

Every time she had gotten closer to Zen, Jaehee was there protecting him and looking out for his best interests. While every time she had gotten closer to Jaehee, Zen was cheering them both on from the sidelines. Yet after each reset, she couldn't help but wonder why they all couldn't be happy together.

She knew Jaehee liked Zen. Heck, everyone knew Jaehee liked Zen except for Jaehee and Zen themselves. They'd gotten so wrapped up in the roles of 'star actor' and 'loyal fan' that they must have subconsciously blocked out the idea that the two of them could have something much more with each other. The idea caused Zai's cheeks to immediately flush, and she was suddenly thankful for the lack of camera presence in the bedroom.

Would Zen and Jaehee even accept that kind of relationship with her? Maybe the way to stop the resets was through getting the rest of the RFA members to hook up with each other instead of her.

"If only it were that easy," She mused. "Everyone is already half in love with each other anyway." Now that was an idea. She'd never tried playing matchmaker before, but if it helped?

Her contemplations were quickly blown away by the sound of her phone ringing. Who was calling at this hour?

"Hello?"

"Babe! You're still awake!" Well, think of the (incredibly handsome) devil and he shall appear. She giggled into her hand before raising the phone back up to her ear.

"Yes. My head was full of thoughts about you and I couldn't get to sleep."

"Agh! Saying things like that when we've only just met. Are you sure you're not my fan?" Whoops, maybe she was laying it on a bit thick. After all, to Zen, they'd only met this afternoon.

"No, I'm not your fan. But perhaps...you could convince me?" She tried to sound a little less smitten that time. Which was hard, considering the fact that even though she'd experienced these eleven days dozens of times, her feelings for him never wavered in the slightest.

"Is that a challenge? No? I wouldn't make jokes like that if I were you! I might actually get you to fall for me you know." Oh she knew, she definitely knew.

"It isn't a challenge, but I'm not quite joking either." Perhaps if she catered to his more possessive side.

"Oh, you're on! But actually, that isn't what I wanted to talk to you about." Well, that was new. She felt like this might take a while, so while carefully keeping the phone balanced between her cheek and shoulder, Zai tucked herself under the covers and turned up the volume.

"So what is it you wanted to tell me then, Lovely Zen?" She could hear him sighing with bliss at the praise in the background and smiled into her hand. He was so predictable but that never stopped her from liking him in the first place.

"Ah man, you know just what to say to get a guy's heart racing! Wait, agh, I'm getting sidetracked again! Are you distracting me on purpose?" She hummed against the phone, glad he couldn't see the widening grin on her face.

"I thought you had something to say?"

"Right! Yes! Sorry, sorry, I'm just all over the place today. I wanted to formally welcome you into the RFA! I know things went kind of fast and now you're stuck as our party planner in the meantime, but I hope that we get the chance to know each other better while you're with us. I want you to enjoy yourself while you're here." If she closed her eyes right now, she could see his excited smile in her mind. It made her heart ache. "You'll tell me if you get overwhelmed, right? I mean, I know it's a lot to have on your shoulders all of a sudden. But I wanted you to know that you've got me, us, supporting you too! So you don't have to do this all on your own." Memories of past parties, which once seemed so far away, leaped to the forefront of her mind. She wiped away the drops of liquid beginning to form in the corners of her eyes as she listened to Zen talk about how the rest of the RFA was behind her every step of the way.

"Thank you so much for saying that... You don't know how much that means to me." And she was being honest too, yet she still did her best to hold in the tears. She didn't want Zen to hear her crying.

"Well, it's just so you don't forget, ok? You're one of us now! Anyways, it's getting late and you need your rest if you want to be energized tomorrow! It was nice talking with you!" If she were being honest with herself, then his enthusiasm was quite contagious. Wiping away the remaining moisture from her eyes, Zai did her best to try and talk normally.

"It was good talking with you too, Zen. After hearing that soothing voice of yours, I think I can relax enough to get to sleep now, so thank you again." No matter how she tried, she always reverted to flirting whenever she was around him. Whoever came up with 'Old habits die hard' really knew what they were saying.

"Gah! I think if you say any more sweet things to me I'll combust! But I won't keep you up any longer. Have a good night, Zai, and sleep well." She heard the soft _click_ of the line disconnecting and gave a slow sigh. If everything went according to plan then she had the next ten days plus her whole lifetime to get to know Zen better. She'd lived in this apartment for so long that she felt like she knew him for years, and in a way, that might be true.

After taking some time to reply to a couple of the potential guests the rest of the members had through to refer to her, she checked her texts to see that Zen had left her an additional good night message.

/ **ZEN:** I know this might sound crazy, but when I was talking to you on the phone just a while ago, I felt like I'd known you for much longer than just a couple hours. /

/ **ZEN:** That isn't weird to you, is it? /

Zai would have responded if she hadn't fallen asleep.


	4. Common Route - Day 2 - Part 1

Day 2 - 07:10 AM

 _Honey you're so syrup sweet! Gimme' Gimme sugar trea-!_

Never let it be said that Zai didn't have any natural grace, but not even she could stop herself from rolling out of bed after she was startled awake by the unfamiliar sound. After shutting off the abrupt alarm, she realized she'd forgotten that she had changed her ringtone with the latest reset.

Quickly standing up and divesting herself of her accidental blanket cocoon, she hoped that none of Seven's cameras had picked up the sound of her body colliding with the floor.

Normally she'd be preparing herself breakfast, but as she looked around the kitchen she had cooked so many meals in, alone, without company, Zai decided she would rather eat somewhere with more people. After all, she was supposed to be changing up how she normally did things during these eleven days.

While pulling on a soft jacket with one hand, she unlocked her phone and accessed the RFA app. Once she'd gotten the jacket on all the way, she took a moment to return back to her bedroom and slip her new phone into a pocket on the inside of the jacket. She knew if Seven saw her using it on the CCTV he'd ask her what it was for, and Zai was a terrible liar.

Stepping out of the apartment and locking it behind her, she walked what she considered to be a decent amount of distance from the building before using her new phone to look up directions to the nearest cafe. She wasn't very surprised when the closest one was a few miles away.

Zai thought about taking the car but then reconsidered. There was no harm in getting a bit of exercise.

Day 2 - 09:04 AM

Almost two hours later after leaving her house, Zai was beginning to regret this decision. She stumbled into the cafe, barely able to hold herself up.

Not eating before walking several miles was a bad idea, a s _tupidly bad_ , horrible idea. Why did she do this? She didn't understand.

Thankfully, it was past what most would have considered the breakfast rush, so the line was short and her order prepared with very little time. Zai dragged herself over to a somewhat secluded corner of the cafe with only a few patrons and sat down to savor her food as slowly as possible.

Day 2 - 09:52 AM

By the time she had finished eating, Zai found herself nodding off, and ordered a coffee to try and keep herself at least somewhat awake. She idly sipped at the beverage while looking out the window, but was startled from her daydreaming when she noticed a very familiar glasses-wearing brunette enter the establishment. What was Jaehee doing here of all places?

Zai watched Jaehee order something and nearly leave the building before she realized she was _missing a chance to talk to one of her favorite people_ and shot up out of her seat, waving in Jaehee's direction and almost knocking over her coffee in the process.

"Jaehee! Jaehee Kang!" Okay so maybe she was being a bit loud but how could she just let the opportunity to speak with Jaehee alone slip through her fingers. "Hey! Jaehee, over here!"

To her credit, Jaehee didn't suddenly leap back and drop her drink when Zai started calling her name, but she did stop walking towards the door and turn towards her in confusion before hesitantly approaching her table. Zai couldn't keep the smile off her face even if she wanted to.

"Jaehee! I can't believe I get to speak to you in person like this! I'm a huge fan!" She might be overplaying it a bit but her enthusiasm was genuine. She loved getting to talk to Jaehee, and the sooner she started rebuilding their relationship together, the better.

"My...fan? I didn't know I was known well enough to have fans..." Jaehee started scanning the room after that statement. Did she think it was all a prank or something? Zai wasn't Seven!

"Oh I'm so sorry, are you busy...?"

"For once? No, not at the moment."

"Then please sit down! You should relax for a while." Now Jaehee just seemed bewildered. It was if no one had ever shown her this amount of kindness before. Zai grimaced internally.

"I, uh, probably should have introduced myself before being so forward with you." After the adrenaline rush from seeing Jaehee in person had passed, all that was left was a rush of embarrassment. What was she thinking just shouting her name in the cafe like that? "My name is Zai."

At that, Jaehee's eyes got almost impossibly wide. Zai was more than a little concerned for her health.

"Zai as in...member of the RFA, Zai? The girl who just joined our organization yesterday?" If she was confused before, she must have been stunned now. Zai mentally promised to send Jaehee a care package when she got the chance.

"The one and only! I'm so happy I got the chance to meet you like this!" Her enthusiasm simply _could not_ be curbed.

"Oh, oh my! What a coincidence! Or is it perhaps, fate?" Zai let out a sigh of relief at the tentative smile on Jaehee's face. If she was calm enough to joke with her then she hadn't truly rattled her up like she thought.

"I could only be so lucky if fate brought me here to meet with you, oh legendary Jaehee Kang!" The two women giggled at this, for even though Zai had only (apparently) been with the RFA a short time, Jaehee's dislike for her boss's ethics was already incredibly obvious.

"It's not that I'm not happy to have the chance to meet you in person, but is there any reason why you're not at the apartment right now?" Jaehee gave her a questioning look while Zai sipped at her coffee.

"To be honest I didn't really want to eat breakfast alone in that apartment. It just doesn't feel very...home-like." That sentence must have been said with more emotion than she intended because after a few moments, she realized that Jaehee now had her hand pressed reassuringly against her arm while gazing at her with an understanding expression.

"I get it. Some places just don't feel very personal, do they?" Zai nodded along in agreement and absentmindedly took another sip of her drink before grimacing as she realized that it had become lukewarm. Jaehee noticed her reaction and piped up helpfully. "Ah, is your coffee bad? I can convince them to make you a new cup if you'd like. You know the flavor of coffee beans can change depending on how long you roast them? It can also be affected by the temperature that's used while the beans are being prepared..."

If Zai was sleepy before, then Jaehee's gentle voice, filled with underlying tones of passion was like a lullaby to her tired and blurry mind. Pillowing her arms under her chin, she focused on the words coming from the woman sitting across from her, and the warmth and weight of Jaehee's hand on her arm.

Day 2 - 10:27 AM

A while later, Zai felt herself being gently roused as someone shook her shoulder lightly.

"Zai? ...Zai? Please wake up..." Looking up, Zai was surprised to see Jaehee's face so close to hers. If she just leaned forward a little more...

Unfortunately, after realizing she'd successfully roused her table companion from her nap, Jaehee sat back down. Opportunity missed.

"I'm sorry...I seemed to have bored you to sleep. I'll make sure it doesn't happen again." What? As if Jaehee could ever be boring in any capacity.

"No, no, it's alright," Zai covered up a yawn with one hand while waving away Jaehee's concerns with the other. "You could never bore me, Jaehee." She tried to make an encouraging smile.

"To be honest I was just pretty tired, and you have such a nice voice that I couldn't help but fall asleep to it. Your words sound just like music." At that statement, Jaehee lit up bright red and brought up her (now empty) coffee mug to cover her blushing face.

"I...uh..if-if you say so, Zai."

The two continued to talk until it was afternoon. Jaehee ordered Zai another, fresh, cup of coffee to keep her awake while she told her of the different merits of Kona and Arabica beans and how to properly draw out the unique flavors of each. Though, eventually the two had to part ways; Jaehee to C&R International, and Zai to Rika's apartment.

After they stepped outside of the cafe together, Zai decided to pull out one last stop.

"I had a lot of fun today, Jaehee." At the bright look that took over her face after saying this, Zai decided that she definitely had to go on more outings with Jaehee.

"I'm glad, I had fun with you today too, Zai." The expression of pure happiness was so pure that Zai felt like she might actually start crying.

"Do you think we could possibly do this again sometime? When you're not busy with an unreasonable amount of work, anyways." Jaehee looked ecstatic.

"Yes! I mean, ah...I would enjoy going out with you again another time if you would like to." Zai grinned and pulled out her phone.

"Would you mind taking a picture with me before I go? I want to be able to remember this moment forever." Jaehee flushed red once more but nodded in agreement.

Zai excitedly brought her arm around Jaehee's shoulder and made a classic peace sign, while using her other hand to hold up the phone in front of them.

"Say, 'coffee'!"

"Coffee!"

The screen flashed for a moment and Zai immediately went to her gallery to look at it. The still image was punctuated by Zai's exuberant face, with a shyly smiling Jaehee gazing at her with a look of wonder.

"Awesome! Thanks so much Jaehee! I'll send this to you later, okay?"

"Of course, I'll see you soon."

"Definitely!"

With that, she was skipping her way back to the apartment, but not before shouting a final phrase.

"It's a date!"

Oh, what she would've given to be able to turn around and see the look on Jaehee's face.

Day 2 - 01:49 PM

When she finally arrived back at the apartment, Zai was exhausted, but completely giddy. She locked the door behind her before leaning back sliding down its surface, covering her face and giggling with excitement.

She breathlessly took out her phone and opened the RFA app. To no surprise of hers, she saw an open chat and a few lines of texts from both Zen and Jaehee. Scrolling up to the top, she started reading.

/ **Jaehee Kang:** I had a most extraordinary encounter today. /

/ **ZEN:** Oh, really? With what? Surely it can't be more extraordinary than me! /

The message was followed by a selfie of Zen in a black tank top, apparently lying on his back on top of a yoga mat. Zai subtly saved the image to her gallery.

/ J **aehee Kang:** Ah, what a lovely photo. However, I do believe that you'll agree with me when I say that this encounter was quite special. /

At that, Zai formally signed in and sent the selfie that she had taken with Jaehee to the chat.

/ **Zai:** Guess who got to meet the famous Jaehee Kang for breakfast today! This girl! / If she were a lesser person, she might have ended that text with several winky faces.

/ **ZEN:** WHAT? No way! Jaehee, you got to meet with Zai before me? And she's so cute too! Aaaahhh ...I'm so jealous. / He sent one of his sad emojis right afterward and Zai laughed at his over dramatization of it all.

/ **Jaehee Kang:** Hello, Zai! I'm glad you made it back home safely. /

/ **Zai:** Hi Jaehee! I just got back. I think I overestimated how much walking I can do. My legs aren't working right now ;; /

/ **ZEN:** Hey princess! What's this about you meeting up with Jaehee before me? Maybe I could come over and massage your legs for you? / The very thought of Zen taking the time to lovingly massage her aching legs made her face heat up so quickly that she was worried Seven would see steam coming out of her ears on his cameras.

/ **Zai:** b-blushing... /

/ **Jaehee Kang:** Zen! You shouldn't tease Zai like that. Besides, what would your fans think? / Gatekeeper mode reactivated, and things were going so well too.

/ **ZEN:** Ah, you're right. But still! Invite me along next time too, will ya? /

/ **Zai:** So we'll make it a triple date then. Is that okay with you Jaehee? /

/ **Jaehee Kang:** aknabdhbajgasdh /

/ **Jaehee Kang:** kshjsagWDH /

/ **Jaehee Kang:** dkakhwbdgjwbd /

/ **Zai:** ...Jaehee? /

/ **ZEN:** I think she's having a meltdown. /

/ **Jaehee Kang:** I...thought that you were joking earlier when you said that... /

/ **Zai:** I'd never joke about that, Jaehee! Everyone knows it's wrong to lie to pretty ladies. /

/ **Jaehee Kang:** ... /

/ **Jaehee Kang:** I will consider it. /

 _Jaehee Kang has left the chat room._

/ **Zai:** Whoops...do you think I was too forward? /

/ **ZEN:** That was such a work of art. Almost as amazing as one of my selfies! /

/ **ZEN:** I think she was just a bit overwhelmed. She'll come around eventually. /

/ **ZEN:** Don't forget to tell me the time for our date, though! /

/ **Zai:** Wait...really? You're actually up for it? /

/ **ZEN:** Of course! What man wouldn't pass up the opportunity to spend some time with two lovelies such as yourselves? /

He sent a winking emoji right afterward.

/ Z **EN:** Besides, Jaehee needs as much time away from Jumin as she can get. / Zai thought back to all the times she had seen Jaehee worked to the bone, with never enough time off to completely bring that glow back to her eyes.

/ **Zai:** Yeah, she does. So I guess it's up to us to get her to relax as much as possible! /

/ **ZEN:** Shall we officially form the Jaehee Protection Squad? /

/ **Zai:** Yes! /

/ **ZEN:** Alright! Then from this day forth, I, Zen, and you, Zai, pledge to protect the incredible Jaehee Kang from the tyrannical Jumin Han! /

/ **Zai:** All for Jaehee and One for Jaehee! /

 _707 has joined the chat room._

/ **707:** Ahhh! Can i join the Jaehee Protection Squad too? I can help out by looking after Elly! /

/ Z **EN:** ... /

/ **Zai:** ... /

 _ZEN has left the chat room._

 _Zai has left the chat room._

Closing her phone, Zai laughed quietly as she went to make herself lunch. The RFA might have been a mess, but she still wouldn't trade it for the world.


	5. Common Route - Day 2 - Part 2

Day 2 - 05:52 PM

After her little excursion, Zai was more than content to lie in bed and spend the rest of her day simply checking on her phone in between dozing off. Part of her wondered if she should get a computer. Even though the apartment was well stocked with food, if you discounted the many files stashed away within the building and basic furniture, it was quite spartan.

While re-reading the day's chat logs, Zai noticed that Jaehee had been completely absent since their short chat with Zen earlier in the day. Hesitantly, she pulled up the RFA member's phone numbers and scrolled until she got to Jaehee's. Her hands shook as she pressed the call button and made a silent prayer that she wouldn't be interrupting her in the middle of something important.

"Jaehee Kang, C&R International. How may I help you? " Even over the phone, her voice was amazing.

"Hey, Jaehee! I hope I'm not interrupting you or anything...?" She willed her hands to stop trembling as she brought the phone closer to her ear. She could hear the sound of paper behind hastily shuffled away before Jaehee responded exuberantly.

"Zai! No, I'm not as busy right now so I can talk for a few minutes. Is there something you needed?" Internally, Zai's heart felt like it was going to cease. Was it humanly possible for someone to be as cute as Jaehee?

"Oh I'm sorry! I just wanted to hear your voice. It's pretty lonely in this apartment and I miss you from earlier. You never told me whether or not you were okay with going on a date with me and Zen!" Well, it was as good a time as any to bring that up. She heard Jaehee gasp softly, followed by several rapid and forceful clicks in the background.

"I'm free tomorrow at nine if you and Zen are available...are you sure this type of excursion would not be better suited to just two people?"

"Aw, Jaehee, I didn't know you considered me the third wheel!"

"Ah, I didn't-!"

"Kidding, kidding! We want you there with us, Jaehee! It wouldn't be the same without you."

Zai could imagine the blush on Jaehee's face now as she comprehended that two people who she (apparently) liked a lot wanted to be near her at the same time.

"O-okay. Do you want to go back to the cafe? Or did you have another location in mind?" Zai considered it for a second. On one hand, it would be easy to get to, but on the other, she'd already embarrassed herself once at that location by shouting Jaehee's name at the top of her lungs to get her attention. She didn't think she could do it again.

"Actually I think I'll ask Zen for a recommendation for where to go. I still have to ask him if he's free to come with us. I'll text you once I've got his information."

"Alright then, thank you for calling. Talking to you makes doing all this work a little more bearable..." She was blushing again.

"Well, talking to you makes my day twice as great, Jaehee! I'll see you tomorrow!"

"See you tomorrow." The phone disconnected and Zai held in her cries of delight. One down, one more to go.

Day 2 - 07:47 PM

After getting off the phone with Jaehee, she tried calling Zen twice, but unfortunately, all her messages went to voicemail. She switched to text and sent him a PM asking whether or not he'd be able to meet up with them at the designated time tomorrow, and if he had any good ideas for where they should go. A short while later he replied with the address of a little hole-in-the-wall restaurant that had great coffee and pastries before saying that his schedule was open and that he couldn't wait to see them. Zai clutched her phone to her chest and bounced around the room a bit. Finally, she was going to have her two favorite people together with her in one place for at least an hour. It would be _bliss_.

Checking the time, she figured that now would be a good time to start on dinner. Before, she would forget to eat several times; focusing too much on sending emails and doing research in order to ensure the best party possible. After being reminded and reprimanded many times, she finally started eating on a regular schedule. Between her walk to and from the cafe, as well as her early lunch, she decided that it would be a pasta night. After setting a pot full of water on the stove to boil, she leaned over the counter to check her phone.

 _Zai has joined the chat room._

/ **Yoosung** : Zai! Save me! /

/ **Zai:** What's up, Yoosung? /

/ **707:** Nothing is up! /

Yoosung sent three of his crying emojis in quick succession.

/ **Yoosung** : Seven tricked me into taking an embarrassing photo and uploading it! /

/ **Zai:** How did he do that? /

/ **Yoosung** : ... /

/ **Yoosung** : He said that if I did, it would unlock a special set of armor on LOLOL... /

/ **Zai:** Can I see the photo? /

/ **707:** I thought you'd never ask! /

Surprised by the speed at which Seven replied, Zai as a little startled when the chat was suddenly obscured by a photo of Yoosung in a white onesie wearing...were those cat ears?

/ **Yoosung** : SEVEN! Why did you send that to the chat!? I thought I deleted my post! /

/ **707:** lolololol You know once you upload something to the internet it never gets deleted! Especially if you're an amazing hacker with several backup data servers! /

/ **Zai:** ...so that's what Seven is into. /

/ **Yoosung** : W-what? /

/ **Zai:** Nevermind, forget I asked! /

/ **707:** I think he looks absolutely adorable! Just like a cute little kitty! /

/ **Yoosung** : Zai! Why does Seven treat me like this? I went out and bought this costume just for the picture and the store doesn't accept returns! /

/ **Zai:** Well Yoosung, people say that boys like to tease the people they have crushes on. /

/ **Yoosung** : WHAT?! /

Seven sent one of his shocked emojis, and the chat was filled with silence for several minutes. Zai shrugged and moved to add the uncooked pasta to the water before turning off the stove. When she returned, the chat was covered in back-and-forth texts from both Yoosung and Seven.

/ **Yoosung** : Why would Zai say that!? Seven doesn't have a crush on me! If he really had a crush on me he wouldn't be so mean all the time! /

/ **707:** Mean? I'm not mean! I'm never mean to you! /

/ **Yoosung** : Yes you are! You're always teasing me and playing pranks on me! /

/ **707:** Those are just jokes, though! /

/ **Yoosung** : Jokes shouldn't hurt! /

/ **707:** I can't help it! You fall for them so easily~ /

/ **Yoosung** : Yes! Because I trust you! Now I'm starting to think I misplaced that trust, since you keep taking advantage of me so much. /

/ **707:** W-wait, Yoosung! I'm just playing! You know I'm not doing this to hurt you right? /

/ **Yoosung** : I don't know. You never apologize either. /

/ **Yoosung** : I'm not talking to you anymore. /

/ **707:** Yoosung...

 _Yoosung_ _has left the chat room._

/ **707:** ! /

 _707 has left the chat room._

Staring at the chat history with wide eyes, Zai felt a slight chill against her neck. She didn't think her little comment would lead to such a fallout. She considered calling Yoosung or Seven, but then realized that it was probably better they work things out on their own. This felt like a long time coming.

Day 2 - 09:54 PM

 _POV: Yoosung Mode_

Yoosung wrapped himself up in as many blankets as he could get his hands on while he huddled in the corner of his bed, far away from his phone, which was face-down and turned off on his desk. All the lights in the room were off, and stupid Seven had ruined his mood to the point where he didn't even want to play LOLOL.

He couldn't help it if he trusted Seven so implicitly that he would fall for _all_ of Seven's pranks. It was true that none of his jokes had ever really hurt Yoosung, but after getting taken advantage of so many times, he was beginning to wonder if he was just another plaything for Seven to mess with until he eventually broke. Sniffling, he pulled the blankets tighter around himself. Fine then! If Seven was just going to keep toying with his feelings, then he wouldn't talk to him at all. If they never spoke with each other, then Seven couldn't trick him anymore.

However, the thought of not talking to Seven anymore upset him more than the pranks did. Seven was always really funny, even if a lot of his jokes came at Yoosung's expense. He was also supportive of Yoosung, encouraging him and cheering him on with his weird sense of humor.

Yoosung was startled out of his thoughts at the sound of someone repetitively banging on his door.

He picked himself and his multitude of blankets off of the bed before hesitantly making his way towards the entrance of the dorm.

"...Hello?" Yoosung nearly threw himself backward at the shout echoing from outside his door.

"Yoosung!? Yoosung please let me in!" What was Seven doing here so late? Was this another prank?

"No way! You're probably here to mess with me again! I'm going to open this door and you'll spray me with soda water or coffee or something. Just go home Seven!" Yoosung waited a few moments in silence before pressing his ear against the door. Was that sniffling?

Tentatively unlocking the door, by a few meager inches, he looked through the crack to see Seven, his head bowed and his arm pressed against his eyes.

"...Seven?" At hearing his voice, Seven's head snapped up that Yoosung was a little worried that he'd hurt his neck. Those thought were quickly thrown out when Seven leapt up, tackling Yoosung through the open door and kicking it shut before wrapping his arms around him and pressing his face against Yoosung's shoulder. To his credit, Yoosung kept his balance and only blushed a little while Seven clutched at him like a child with his glasses digging into Yoosung's collarbone.

"Yoosung...! I'm sorry! I didn't know that my jokes bothered you that much! I thought we were having fun together!" Did he come all this way to apologize?

"...Seven...Seven!" Wrestling his arm out of Seven's vicelike grip, Yoosung did his best to somewhat return the (quickly becoming uncomfortable) hug. "It's okay now! I think I was just overreacting."

"No! You were right. I kept pushing you because I wanted to see how far I could get before you got sick of me. It's my fault." Now Yoosung was confused.

"But why would you want me to get sick of you?"

"You remember...what Zai said? After you asked her why I like to tease you?"

If Yoosung was a bit red before, then he must have looked like a tomato now. He was just glad that the lights were off at the moment.

"Y-yeah, but what does that have to do with anything?"

Seven's face withdrew from its spot against the junction of Yoosung's shoulder and chest. Seeing the light tear marks on Seven's face, he was suddenly filled with the urge to wipe them away.

"Yoosung...I like you a lot."

"I like you too, Seven."

At that, Seven straightened up and looked right into Yoosung's eyes for several moments.

"You're still not getting it, Cutie?" Yoosung was thinking about what he should say in response when he was suddenly pulled back into a hug with Seven's cheek resting against Yoosung's head, and his arms around his middle. "Yoosung I really _really_ like you. You're fun to be around, and I like playing with you because your reactions are so cute!" He lightly squeezed Yoosung, who then wrapped his arms around Seven in response.

"I didn't think about telling you before because I was worried."

"About what?"

"Well, my line of work is dangerous...I don't know what I'd do if something bad happened to you because of me."

Yoosung dug his fingers into the soft fabric of Seven's jacket and drew them closer together.

"That's dumb."

"What?"

"If you spend all your time worrying about what might happen in the future, then how are you supposed to enjoy your life in the present?" Yoosung pulled back slightly so he could look into Seven's eyes again, and saw the other boy's somewhat bewildered expression. "I don't want you to play with my feelings or give me false hope Seven...If there's a chance for you to be happy, then you should take it." Seven suddenly hunched over and started trembling in Yoosung's arms.

"Uh, Seven? Are you ok-!" Said boy jumped out of Yoosung's arms and once again wrapped his own around him before spinning him around once, twice, and setting him down.

"Ah, Yoosung! You're so right!' Seven pressed a kiss to a now dizzy Yoosung's forehead before rubbing their cheeks together. "I'm still sorry for treating you that way...I should have been more honest with you from the start. Are we good now?" Once he got his bearings, Yoosung took in Seven's hesitant stance and threaded their figures together.

"Of course. But, um, what exactly are we now?"

"Oh, uh...Yoosung, you don't mind waiting a bit longer, do you?"

"Waiting for what?"

"Well, if I'm being honest, I don't really know what I want right now, but I know I like you, so just...give me a little time to work out what I want for myself. I need to make sure that this isn't going to be something that will backfire on me or you in the future."

Yoosung sighed softly. At least they were making progress. "Ok, Seven. It's too late for you to go back to your house now, though. Stay the night?"

"Eh? You don't have a couch though." Untangling one hand from Seven's, Yoosung pressed it against his forehead. And everyone called _him_ naive.

"No, Seven, you can sleep in the bed with me." The resulting silence was deafening until Seven abruptly pulled Yoosung towards the bed by their still connected hands.

"Wow, Yoosung! I didn't know you were already that in love with me! What will you say next? That we should get married at the space station?"

They fell into bed laughing, and Yoosung leaned over to pull the discarded blankets off the floor from where they had fallen while Seven kicked off his shoes. Once they were under the covers, their limbs immediately tangled together, and Yoosung could feel Seven's arms around him.

Safe and warm together, it wasn't long before the two were fast asleep.


	6. Common Route - Day 3 - Part 1

Day 3 - 07:00 AM

Zai woke up ahead of her alarm for once, and immediately set a new notification on her phone so that she had ample time to drive to the cafe to meet with Zen and Jaehee. She opened up the RFA app while changing and was surprised to see a lack of late night chats from either Yoosung or Seven, who were both notorious for staying up late. Yoosung was apparently awake, seeing how he was signed in.

 _Zai has joined the chat room._

/ **Zai:** Yoosung! Is everything alright between you and Seven? I didn't mean to set things off like that last night. /

/ **Yoosung** : Everthyngs oksy, Zai! /

/ **Zai:** Are you playing LOLOL? You're making a lot of typos. /

/ **Yoosung** : No! m typign whith one hamd rihgt now. /

/ **Zai:** Why? /

Zai waited a few moments and was suddenly rewarded with a picture of Yoosung, his arm outstretched to take a photo with his camera, while his other hand made a peace sign from where it was wrapped around a sleeping Seven's shoulders, as he curled himself into Yoosung's chest.

/ **Yoosung** : I dnot wnna wakr him up! /

 _ZEN has joined the chat._

/ **ZEN:** Whoa...is that Seven? What is he doing at Yoosung's house? /

/ **Zai:** Ohmygosh I was right! /

/ **Yoosung** : Imm goighn to let him slepr some mor! by! /

 _Yoosung_ _has left the chat room._

/ **Zai:** I knew it! Zen I knew it! /

/ **ZEN:** Knew what, princess? /

/ **Zai:** Seven was messing with Yoosung because he has, had a crush on him. Yoosung got really upset at him for joking around last night. I guess they made up. /

 _Jaehee Kang has joined the chat room._

/ **ZEN:** They probably did some making out too lolol /

/ **Jaehee Kang:** What Yoosung and Luciel do in their spare time is none of our concern. /

/ **ZEN:** Pff, I was just kidding. /

/ **Zai:** Hi Jaehee! Are you excited for our date today? /

/ **Jaehee:** Yes, although I'm not sure that I would call it a "date". /

/ **Zai:** But isn't that usually what this type of outing is called? A date? /

/ **ZEN:** Yeah Jaehee. Why, are you not excited to go on a date with me and Zai? /

/ **Jaehee:** No! I mean yes, I am! But aren't dates usually shared between two people, and not three? /

/ **Zai:** Well, in this case, there are three of us, so it's a three-person date! /

/ **Jaehee:** I see... I think I understand now. We're all in agreement to meet at nine, correct? /

/ **ZEN:** Yup, I'll text you both the address to the place in a bit, just gotta finish stretching for my morning workout. /

/ **Zai:** Oh, Zen! Can we see a selfie? Pretty please? /

/ **ZEN:** How could I deny such a polite request, and deny you the gift of my gorgeous face? /

The message was quickly followed by a picture of Zen dressed in a light shirt and loose pants, with the sunlight streaming in through a nearby window, making his hair seem to glow.

/ J **aehee:** Beautiful... /

/ **Zai:** Thank you lovely Zen! I'll treasure it! /

/ **ZEN:** Anything for my two favorite fans ^^ /

Afterward, all three logged off so that they could start getting ready for their triple-date. The very thought made Zai tremble with excitement. Finally, she was changing things for the better.

Day 3 - 09:00 AM

Zai arrived at the restaurant right on time and was surprised to see Jaehee already sitting at a table with a fresh cup of coffee in her hand. She was absentmindedly scrolling through her phone, but she looked up when she heard Zai tapping on the window next to her. Grinning, Zai made her way inside and sat down across from Jaehee, who had picked a conveniently placed corner table with three seats, located as far away from the other patrons as possible.

"Jaehee, it's so good to see you again!" Zai felt lightheaded with glee, but that might have just been her stomach; she skipped breakfast in lieu of eating at the cafe.

"We just saw each other yesterday..." Jaehee set down her coffee and tried to cover up her smile with her hand, but it couldn't hide the blush on her cheeks or the crinkling of her eyes.

"Yes, but I'm still happy to see you!"

"Oh, I nearly forgot to mention, but Zen said that he'll be running a bit late due to practice."

"That's fine, it just gives me a bit more time to spend with just you."

Jaehee was now using both her hands to shield her face. Zai just smiled and asked the nearest waiter if she could order some tea.

Day 3 - 09:16 AM

A quarter of an hour later, Zai and Jaehee were still talking. Zai was halfway through her tea, and Jaehee had unsurprisingly started on her second cup of coffee. Zen had texted the both of them to say that he was finished with practice and on his way a few minutes ago, now the two women were simply making small talk while they waited for him to arrive.

Zai was in the middle of asking Jaehee the benefits of brewing coffee with hot water as opposed to cold when a shadow fell over her.

"Hello ladies, mind if I sit here?" There was a moment of confusion before a man that neither of them knew pulled out the chair they were saving for Zen and immediately sat down.

"Um, we were saving that seat for someone." Zai's response was drowned out by the man suddenly leaning forward on his elbows and getting _much_ too close for comfort.

"What are two pretty girls like you doing sitting all the way over here?" Jaehee had been silent up until this point, before speaking out.

"As a matter of fact we were quite enjoying each other's company before you interrupted us, and as my companion has said, we are currently waiting on someone who's spot you are occupying." She tilted her head at him and lowered her glasses in a way that made Zai's heart speed up by just a fraction.

"Really? Well, I don't see them anywhere. So maybe you're just making that up to scare me away? As if I could ignore two good looking single ladies on their own." At that moment, Zai decided to make a rather risky move, but if she was truly thinking about it, then what did she have to lose? Moving past the man, she grasped Jaehee's hand from across the table and loosely threaded their fingers together.

"Actually, my girlfriend and I would prefer it if you left us alone. We're not interested." Both Jaehee and the stranger's eyes widened, with Jaehee's face getting even redder than Zai thought possible.

Almost immediately after she spoke those words, they could hear the rev of a motorcycle, and when she turned to look out the window, Zai could see Zen's brilliant silver hair spilling over his shoulders as he removed his helmet and turned to enter the building.

"And there's our boyfriend now, so you should leave before he sees you." Zai leaned in a little closer towards the stranger and whispered conspiratorially. "He can be a little possessive sometimes." At the sight of Zen in his biking jacket, the man quickly backed out of the seat and moved as far away from Jaehee and Zai as possible.

Zai smiled and waved at Zen from their spot at the table, a frozen Jaehee gaping lightly with her hand still connected to Zai's.

"Zen! Over here!" As soon as he caught sight of them, his bright ruby eyes lit up and he walked quickly over to them before sitting down.

"Hey! Nice spot, very private." Zai laughed and gave Jaehee's hand a squeeze.

"It was all Jaehee's idea. She was already here when I arrived. It's nice to finally see you in person, lovely Zen." Both Jaehee and Zen were now sporting quite impressive blushes as they stared at the girl sitting next to them. Untangling her fingers from Zai's, Jaehee leaned back and used both her hands to pick up her coffee mug and raise it to her lips, eyes darting to look anywhere but Zai's face. Zen was silent for a few seconds before clutching at his chest and grinning.

"Charming words from a charming girl! I knew there was a reason I liked you." He let go of his dramatic pose before looking over at Jaehee. "Is something wrong with her?" Now it was Zai's turn to blush, as she raised a hand to her cheek and avoided meeting Zen's eyes.

"Before you got here we were being harassed by some man," A deep growl came from Zen, sending a chill down her spine. She hadn't been kidding when she said he was possessive. "So I told him that we were dating and that we were waiting for you." Taking a sip of her tea, she watched as Zen processed her words with a blank expression. He slowly looked between her and Jaehee before bringing his elbows up to rest on the table.

"So...you said that...all three of us are dating...?"

"That, uh, may have been the case, yes." She and Zen locked eyes for a few moments before he started laughing.

"Oh man! That's awesome! I wish I could've seen the look on his face! Imagine if I was lucky enough to have two girlfriends as amazing as you and Jaehee, Zai!" He started clutching at his sides to stifle his laughter while Jaehee as slowly withdrawing more and more into herself.

"Jaehee? Are you alright? Sorry if I was too forward earlier, I probably should've asked before I made such a statement." Zai almost leaned over to place her hand on Jaehee's shoulder before thinking better of it. After a short while she looked up and Zen and Zai, face redder than a ripe strawberry.

"It's...it's fine. I was just...surprised." Jaehee finally straightened up and took a fortifying sip of her coffee. "I...could not let my personal desires get in the way in that moment. Yet, similarly, I cannot do so in real life. It would be...detrimental to multiple parties." Zen was waving over a server while Zai reached over a grasped at Jaehee's hand once more.

"You know you don't have to be afraid of being close to us." She squeezed and made what she hoped was a reassuring expression. "Whatever bad things you think could happen, I promise you, it won't be like that."

Jaehee looked like she was having an epiphany before Zen finished his order and realized that the two girls were holding hands.

"Hey! You invite me here and don't include me? Let me in on that too!" Jaehee's flush spread through most of her cheeks, while Zai just smiled and held out her palm.

"Anything for you, Zenny!"

After Zen started holding hands with Zai, Jaehee tentatively extended her arm to clutch at the sleeve of Zen's jacket, to which he responded by enthusiastically grabbing her hand and raising it in the air.

"The three of us are all in this together, right?" His expression was so bright that Jaehee couldn't help but start smiling too.

"Right."

Finally, the group relaxed enough to start talking casually about their lives, the party, and anything else that came to mind.

Jaehee didn't let go of Zen's hand until they departed. Zai silently cheered for them the whole way home.

Day 3 - 12:38 PM

Once she got home and locked her door, Zai clutched her phone to her chest and danced around the apartment like a child. She was finally making progress with Jaehee that she had never done before. If she'd known that all it took to assuage her fears about ruining Zen's career with her affections was a small pep talk, she would have done it ages ago. Falling into bed with a delighted sigh, she opened up the RFA app to see a new chat open.

 _Zai has joined the chat room._

/ **707:** Zai! How was that date with Zen and Jaehee? /

/ **Zai:** It was great! Thanks for asking. I'm assuming that they're not home yet? /

/ **707:** Jaehee had to return to Mr. Trust Fund Kid's side, and Zen has practice. /

/ **Zai:** Figures. I'll just tell them how much I had fun with them when they get back. /

/ **Zai:** I wish Jumin would let Jaehee have more time off from work. Even when we were eating she was still checking her phone in between talking. /

/ **707:** Speaking of work! How are you doing inviting guests for the party? /

Oh yeah, the party. She'd been so focused on developing her relationship with Zen and Jaehee that she forgot to respond to the latest emails. She would do that after this conversation.

/ **Zai:** It's going well. I have more people interested than I thought, so I'll check on that in a bit. Did you have any more suggestions? /

Seven rattled off a few cat-related organizations that he thought should be invited to the party. Zai wasn't sure about several of them, but she could always check after they sent her an inquiry.

/ **707:** Anyways I have to go. Work calls! /

/ **Zai:** Not Yoosung? /

/ **707:** Who said anything about Yoosung!? Defender of Justice 707 out! /

 _707 has left the chat room._

 _Zai has left the chat room._


	7. Common Route - Day 3 - Part 2

Day 3 - 03:21 PM

 _POV: Jaehee Mode_

Jaehee's desk was currently covered in documents of many kinds. She'd signed off on so many different projects that her wrists were starting to ache. The sheer amount of emails that she had responded to was staggering. Checking the time, she noted that it was only half-past three. She would be here for at least another five and half hours.

Quietly groaning, she folded her arms over her keyboard and rested her head on them, knowing that once she got up again, there would be a slew of gibberish filling the document that she currently had opened. Jaehee didn't care, she was exhausted.

Thinking back on the day's events, a small smile graced her face as she recalled the moments she spent holding Zai and Zen's hands. The way their fingers had curled around hers, and the warmth and happiness that had exuded from the three of them as they talked over their meals as if they were living without a care in the world. She replayed most of her favorite parts in her head; Zen lifting up her hand and stating that all three of them were together, Zai defiantly calling Jaehee her _girlfriend_. She prayed that Mr. Han didn't come into her office to see her quickly reddening face.

Jaehee was startled out of her reverie by her phone ringing from its placement on the desk an arm's length away. Picking it up, she checked the caller I.D. and was surprised to see Zen's face and number staring back at her. She fumbled with the phone for a second before answering.

"J-Jaehee Kang, C&R International...how can I help you?" Why did she use her business call response? Weren't they friends?

"Jaehee! What's up? You know you don't have to be all formal with me like that right?"

"Ah..yes. I apologize. I was not expecting you to call me. Was there something you needed, Zen?"

"Yes, actually. I just got home and I haven't checked in with Zai yet. Did you call her after you got back to the office?" Oh, she'd forgotten to call Zai. Jaehee nearly dropped the phone in surprise.

"N-no! I forgot! I should do it now...but...Zen.." She heard a laugh from the other side of the phone.

"It's okay Jaehee! I get it. You call her, and I'll call her after you're done. 'Kay?"

"Okay... Thank you for reminding me, Zen."

"No problem, babe!" The call ended with a click, and this time, Jaehee really did drop her phone.

Babe.

Zen had called her _babe_.

Jaehee let her head fall against the keyboard as she felt her cheeks heat up to near boiling. _She was in it deep_.

When Jumin Han passed by his assistant's office a few minutes later, he noted her facedown position against the computer and the multiple paragraphs of nonsense that were currently filling up the screen due to multiple keys being pressed at the same time. He decided to leave her be while making a mental note to give her at least a short break sometime this week. Maybe he really was working her too hard.

Day 3 - 04:08 PM

Zai was in the middle of looking for a cheap laptop for sale on her phone when it buzzed. Her face brightened as soon as Jaehee's icon appeared on the screen, and she accepted the call immediately.

"Jaehee, hi! I was worried you weren't going to call me today."

"I'm sorry, I was busy with work as soon as I returned to the office, and then Zen called."

"Oh yeah, Zen called me a short while ago and told me that you were going to call."

"He did?"

"Mhm. Apparently, he was a little flustered for some reason. What did you two talk about?" There was a quiet squeal from the other side of the phone, and Zai worried that she might have broken Jaehee on accident.

"I..uh... _hecalledmebabe_."

"... What? Sorry Jaehee, I didn't hear that last part."

"Zen...called me babe." The line was silent for a few seconds before Jaehee's eardrums were almost shattered by the scream that came from her phone. "Zai!? Zai are you okay?"

"I'm fine Jaehee! But how are you? That's so cute! Why didn't I think of that?"

"What? Think of what?"

"Pet names, Jaehee! Zen calls us babe, but what am I supposed to call you and him? I think Seven has a monopoly on 'cutie' too." Zai was so focused on coming up with a nickname to use for her two favorite people that she didn't even notice Jaehee's stunned silence.

"Zai...aren't pet names for people who are dating?"

"Well, we're not dating and Zen uses pet names with us, and Seven and Yoosung aren't dating and Seven calls him pet names all the time. I think it's okay, Jaehee."

There were a few moments where Zai was worried that Jaehee would reject the idea, but her worries were assuaged when she said, "Alright, I...suppose it doesn't hurt. Come up with one if you'd like."

"Yes! Thank you, Jaehee! I'm not going to stop until I come up with something perfect. I hope your work goes well! I believe in you!" The call ended, and filled with enthusiasm and a new urge to brainstorm cute names, Zai quickly dug out one of her journals and began to write.

Meanwhile, in her office, Jaehee was sitting in her chair; stunned for the second time that afternoon. Zai _believed in her_.

With a newfound source of energy, she plowed through her work with record-breaking speed and left the building early for the first time in weeks.

Day 3 - 07:55 PM

It was somewhat late in the evening when Zai finally found the perfect (used) laptop and ordered it. She'd have to drive to the electronics store tomorrow to actually pick it up, but it was the only way she could get it without giving away the address to Rika's apartment, which was something she was often expressly told _not_ to do. Even so, she'd replied to all the emails about the party, she had already eaten, and there was nothing else she needed to do immediately.

Lying against the headrest of the bed, she opened the RFA app to see whether anyone was on and was nearly startled enough to throw the phone across the room when she saw the wall of bright green scrolling text. Zai felt her heart speed up as she saw Unknown in the chat.

Learning forward almost imperceptibly, Zai eyed the chat and held her breath.

/ **Unknown:** _..._ /

/ **Unknown:** _Traitor._ /

/ **Unknown:** _You can't save them. You can't save anyone._ /

/ **Unknown:** _...You couldn't even save me._ /

Almost as soon as he had arrived, he was gone, and the chat screen returned to normal. Zai noticed Seven was online and scrambled to tell him about the encounter even though her hands were shaking wildly.

 _Zai has joined the chat room._

/ **Zai:** s e ven? somethgi n ha ppen ed /

/ **707:** Zai? What's wrong? /

/ **Zai:** h E got t in aga in. /

/ **707:** ? ? Who got in again? The hacker!? /

/ **Zai:** y es... s evvn im sc ared /

/ **707:** No! Don't be scared! That's just what he wants! /

/ **Zai:** iI ca an t he ! /

Taking a deep breath, Zai tried to get her bearings. She'd never responded like this to Unknown before, but after the messages she got before her last reset, she realized that she really didn't know anything about him. He'd tried many times to take her to Magenta or whatever that was, and he either succeeded, forcing Zai to reset, blew up the apartment (which also forced her to reset), or failed and blew himself up. If she were being honest, none of those results were looking very good to her at the moment, despite his threats and apparent vendetta against the RFA.

After she had sufficiently calmed down, she opened the chat once more. Unsurprisingly, there were several messages from Seven asking if she was okay.

/ **707:** Zai? Zai!? Are you okay? /

/ **707:** She isn't saying anything... /

/ **707:** OMG what if she had a heart attack and died? /

Before she could reassure Seven that she was alive and well, the chat was interrupted once more.

 _Jumin Han has joined the chat room._

 _ZEN has joined the chat room._

/ **ZEN:** WHAT HAPPENED TO ZAI!? SEVEN DO SOMETHING! /

/ **707:** AAAAA I DON'T KNOW AAAA /

The two of them traded shocked emojis back and forth multiple times before Zai started to get a headache from staring at the flashing images.

/ **Zai** : I didn't have a heart attack! Stop spamming and calm down! /

/ **Jumin Han:** I agree. This is all quite disorienting. /

/ **ZEN:** Zai! You're okay! /

/ **Zai:** Of course I'm okay. I was just a little freaked out. /

/ **707:** That's understandable! I don't know how this guy is getting past my walls. I'll have to set up more fail safes. /

/ **Jumin Han:** Is this about the hacker? /

/ **707:** Yeah, apparently Zai saw him infiltrate the app a few minutes ago and it rattled her pretty good. /

/ **Zai:** It's actually not that big a deal, I just wasn't expecting it... /

/ **ZEN:** That's no excuse! You shouldn't feel unsafe in that apartment! /

/ **Zai:** Thank you for caring about me, Zen, but it's really ok. Nothing bad happened, so don't worry, alright? /

/ **ZEN:** ..fine..But I still don't like it! /

/ **707:** I re-fortified my firewalls and changed the algorithm for the chat lock, so we should be good for now. As soon as I figure out how he's getting into my system I can keep him out permanently. /

/ **Jumin Han:** Do you need any assistance, Luciel? /

/ **707:** Aahh, well... I haven't seen my cutie Yoosung since yesterday! You should bring him here so he can keep me company while I work! /

/ **Jumin Han:** Fine. I'll send Driver Kim to pick him up after class tomorrow and drop him off at your house. /

/ **707:** Wait, seriously?! /

/ **Jumin Han:** Yes. You just said he'd help you work. So I'm sending him to you. /

/ **707:** Sweet! I should clean. /

/ **ZEN:** As if you would ever clean your house. /

/ **707:** True! I have a maid for that! /

Zai sighed with relief as the tension over the hacker's break in slowly dissipated. His presence was wiped away the moment he was locked out of the app, but his last message still echoed in her head ominously.

 _You couldn't even save me..._

She didn't know what it was Unknown needed saving from, but if someone else had failed before, the maybe it was her turn to try.


	8. Common Route - Day 4 - Part 1

Day 4 - 11:09 AM

It was almost noon by the time Zai had gotten back from picking up her (mostly) new laptop. She propped it up on the kitchen counter and set about making herself an early lunch. As she was eating, she considered the next steps in her plan.

So far, she'd done a pretty good job in getting Jaehee to open up more about her feelings. She just had to make sure that Zen knew about those feelings. The very thought made her shoulders shake with laughter. As obvious as Jaehee was with her affections for Zen, he was almost completely oblivious. Or maybe he'd seen her as a fan for so long that he was confusing her desires to be closer to him with the regular fawning he usually received.

Sighing, Zai realized that she had a while to go before she could get these two together properly.

Opening the messenger app on her phone, Zai entered the latest chat and was bombarded by a slew of messages between Jumin, Jaehee, and Zen.

/ **ZEN:** You need to give her a break! It's no good having her working all the time! /

/ **Jumin Han:** I've already reduced her hours on weekends. I don't know what you're complaining about. /

/ **ZEN:** That might be true but you're still leaving your cat with her! /

/ **Jumin Han:** Yes, but I am paying her for that at well. /

/ **ZEN:** Money doesn't mean anything when you're working her to the bone! /

/ **Jaehee Kang:** Please... Mr. Han, Zen, there is no need to argue for my sake. /

/ **Jumin Han:** I'm not arguing with anyone. /

/ **ZEN:** Jaehee! You can't let this guy walk all over you! You deserve better than that! /

/ **Jaehee Kang:** It's alright, Zen. This would be bearable if were not for... the C-Hair. /

 _Zai has joined the chat room._

/ **ZEN:** Zai! You agree that Jaehee shouldn't have to work so much right? Mr. Trust Fund Kid keeps leaving his cat with her like she's running some sort of vacation kennel for rich people. /

/ **Jumin Han:** Assistant Kang is the only person I trust with Elizabeth the 3rd's continued safety. /

/ **Zai:** Why not leave her with Seven? At least he actually likes her. /

/ **Jumin Han:** Absolutely not. /

/ **Jumin Han:** He'll torture my sweet Elizabeth the 3rd. He's a cat abuser. /

/ **Zai:** I'm sure it can't be that bad... /

/ **ZEN:** It doesn't matter who looks after her as long as it isn't Jaehee! /

/ **Jumin Han:** In that case, why doesn't Zai look after her? /

What? Did he really just suggest that? She didn't know the first thing about looking after cats!

/ **Zai:** NO! /

/ **Jumin Han:** What? Surely you aren't biased towards cats as well, Zai? /

/ **Zai:** I, I mean, I don't know anything about taking care of cats! I'm more of a dog person. /

/ **ZEN:** You like dogs? A woman after my own heart! /

/ **Jumin Han:** I understand. I would not want to place Elizabeth the 3rd in the hands of someone inexperienced. It is better that Assistant Kang looks after her. /

/ **Jaehee Kang:** I see that there is no way out of this... Zen, Zai, I appreciate your help nonetheless. /

/ **Zai:** I'm sorry Jaehee! I wish I could help! /

/ **Jumin Han:** Why are you apologizing? It is a great honor to look after Elizabeth the 3rd. /

/ **ZEN:** That's up for debate. /

 _ZEN has left the chat room._

 _Jumin Han has left the chat room._

/ **Zai:** Jaehee, you know you don't have to work for him if you don't want to. There are always other options. /

/ **Jaehee Kang** : ...That may be true, but those options are far out of my reach. Thank you for your concern, Zai. I will be fine. /

 _Jaehee Kang has left the chat room._

 _Zai has left the chat room._

Zai frowned at her screen. It was really unfair how Jumin treated Jaehee. Especially considering just how much work she already had to put up with just doing her normal job, and adding looking after his cat on top of that? During her previous routes, Zai had tried and failed several times to free her from Jumin's controlling grasp. Perhaps this time, with Zen's help, he could finally convince her to leave her job and follow her own dreams for _good_.

Taking a breath to center herself and remember, _no resets anymore_ , she pulled up Jumin's number and hit dial.

Day 4 - 02:00 PM

Standing in front of the door to Jaehee's apartment, Zai filled with trepidation. She never felt this anxious even when she went to visit Zen before, so _why now_?

Just knock on the door. Extend arm, reach out, then _knock_. It was simple. Easy. A child could do it. Children _had_ done it! Why couldn't _she_ do it?! Just knock! _Knock!_

Zai jumped back as the door opened to reveal a flustered Jaehee, with several strands of her silky brown hair sticking out of place, and cat hair patterning her once-neat black jacket.

"Ah!" Jaehee's eyes widened and she nearly dropped the litter tray she was carrying as she realized who the young woman standing in front of her was. "Zai!? What are you doing here?" She knelt down to set the tray aside and attempted to brush some of the dreaded c-hair off her clothes.

"I came to help you with Elizabeth!" This stunned Jaehee into silence.

"Help me...with Elizabeth?" Her confusion was audible and Zai rushed in to explain.

"I convinced Jumin that it'd be better if you have someone to help you looking after her! Also, I told him that you could teach me to look after her in case you need a break! I mean, what if you get sick or...something? You can't be the only person besides himself that he trusts with his cat." Jaehee still looked a little stunned. "He also said he'd pay you extra to teach me to take over looking after Elizabeth."

"Oh...well, um." The two locked eyes for a moment and subsequently turned to hide their matching blushes.

Jaehee held out her hand to invite Zai inside.

"Would you like some coffee?"

Unable to reel in the smile on her face, Zai placed her hand in Jaehee's and felt her fingers curl around her wrist.

"I'd love some, thanks."

Day 4 - 05:11 PM

 _POV: 707 Mode_

Seven hadn't stopped bouncing his leg ever since he'd gotten the text from Jumin telling him that Driver Kim had successfully picked up Yoosung from his school and that they were currently en-route to his house. Sure he'd seen Yoosung just the other day after he showed up unannounced at the blond's house in the middle of the night, and he hadn't left until late yesterday which caused him to get behind on work, but it was all worth it if he got to see his cutie again!

Just the thought of having Yoosung around brought an earnest smile to his face, not the ones he wore when he was doing his best to hide his existential pain (don't let them see!) from the world, or when he was meticulously planning a prank, but a real _genuine_ smile.

For someone who consistently spoke about all the faults of love and its side-effects, he sure did fall into it easily.

His thoughts ran circles in his head as he considered whether or not he really did _love_ Yoosung, or if this was just him projecting all of his feelings of desire onto the other boy. They had been friends for a while, and if he were being honest with himself, many of the occasions where he'd pranked Yoosung were related to his need to both push him away and also as an attempt to draw him in closer with his bizarre sense of humor. He couldn't tell if the excited feeling he got whenever Yoosung was upset with him was caused by enjoyment over the jokes succeeding, or over getting his attention.

Taking his fingers off the keyboard, he spun around in his chair. It wasn't like he was getting any work done at this rate. Reaching over to grab another bag of chips, he was jolted out of his seat as the sound of someone knocking on his door startled him back into reality.

Unlocking and opening the entrance, Seven didn't even give Yoosung the chance to answer any of the security questions before he was dragging him through the entryway and re-locking it behind him. He waited until the disoriented expression on Yoosung's face was replaced with surprise and then delight, before once again launching himself at the younger boy and giving his waist a tight squeeze.

"Finally! My cutie has been delivered to me! I'd rather have you than pizza any day." He could feel the blush on Yoosung's face as the blond pressed his face into Seven's shoulder and wrapped his arms around his neck. They both started shaking with laughter, and Seven was suddenly glad that Jumin had taken his request seriously, and that Yoosung, for whatever reason, agreed to said request.

"You know, you're allowed to say you miss me, Seven." Yoosung pulled him down to press their foreheads together and Seven could feel himself getting redder but he just _couldn't look away_. So instead he picked up the shorter boy and spun them both around the room until they collapsed against the sofa, Yoosung's cries of happiness making him giddy with joy.

"Aahh~ You're so cute Yoosung! I could just eat you up like a bag of honey buddha chips!" Seven still had his arms wrapped around Yoosung's middle, and he laughed breathlessly at the tickling sensation that came from the other rubbing his face into Seven's chest.

"You wouldn't eat me! If you did no one else would cook you food. You can't just eat chips and soda, that isn't nutritious."

"Mmm, does that mean you'll cook for me?" Yoosung reached up to fold his arms across Seven's chest as he rested his chin on them.

"I just offered, didn't I? Though I bet you don't even have any groceries in your fridge." Seven stuck his tongue out.

"I do...They just might be slightly expired."

"Ew! I bet you have a whole ecosystem growing in there."

"So what? I'm cultivating new life forms to take into space with me, so I can colonize a new planet with species that no one has ever seen before!"

Seven rolled over and sandwiched Yoosung between the cushions of he couch and himself, effectively trapping the other boy. Yoosung made a slight noise of protest but opted for placing his arms around Seven's shoulders so he could tuck his head under his chin.

"Then if you're going into space, are you going to take me with you?" Seven pulled him in closer and hummed with pleasure as he thought about the weight of the boy in his arms and the feeling of Yoosung's hair tickling his throat.

"Of course I'd take you with me...Where else are we supposed to get married?"

The room was quiet for several seconds before Seven realized what he'd said and locked up completely. Why had he said that why had he said that _why had he_ -

"You _really_ want to marry me at the space station, Seven?" Quickly unraveling himself from Yoosung, Seven jumped away from the couch.

"It's not like that! I mean who wouldn't want to get married at a space station?! They're so cool and everything I was just thinking that if we _were_ going to get married- NOT, that I think we'd get married because _we're not even dating_ and I-!" He was startled out of his rambling by the sensation of soft hands wrapping around his and smooth lips pressing against his own and _he was kissing Yoosung_.

It felt as long as an infinity and yet still too short when they finally separated and Seven could see the deep purple of Yoosung's eyes and _how had he not noticed how gorgeous they were_ before the younger boy was leaning back and having his own mini-meltdown over the kiss.

"A-ah! Seven I'm sorry! You looked like you were going to combust and I didn't know how else to make you stop- Seven?" He hadn't let go of Yoosung's hands and when he started to withdraw Seven just squeezed them tighter.

"Luciel."

"W-what?"

Looking up, Seven locked gazes with Yoosung once more and pulled him closer so he could press their foreheads together, noses touching.

"If we're going to date, then I want you to use my name. So call me Luciel."

For a second he worried he'd gone too far too soon but then there were arms around his chest and blond hair in his face as Yoosung cried out with delight.

"Really? Luciel? Does this mean we're official?" Seven nodded and felt the other pull back so they could see each other's faces. "Does that mean we can kiss again?" Words failed him as he simply nodded once more and dived in to get another taste of the bright shining star that was Yoosung.

Needless to say, Seven didn't get very much work done that evening.

Day 4 - 11:39 PM

It was late by the time Zai had gotten home from helping Jaehee, and even later after she had finished checking up on all the party guests that had been invited. There were a good amount of attendees on the list, and she felt like this might actually be the largest party she'd ever hosted through all of her time in the RFA.

Closing the laptop with a sigh, she reached over to her phone and unlocked it. If she was still going according to her plan, it would be the only party she'd ever missed. Part of her filled with remorse as she opened the RFA chat and realized that she'd never get to see the results of her hard work. Taking a fortifying breath, she joined the most recent chat and prepared herself for the conversation that she'd been waiting for.

 _Zai has joined the chat room._

/ **Zai** : Hello, V. /


	9. Common Route - Day 4 - Part 2

Day 4 - 11:45 PM

/ **V** : Zai, it's you. /

/ **V** : How are you holding up so far? I realize that I might have been somewhat hasty in inviting you to join the RFA, but the opportunity of being able to host parties again was too great to pass up. /

/ **Zai** : I'm good, thank you for asking. I appreciate you looking out for me. /

/ **V** : It's my responsibility to make sure you're doing well, but besides that, I came to announce the date for the party. /

/ **Zai** : Oh, already? /

Of course, she'd already known he would tell her the date today, same as every other time.

/ **V** : Yes, I thought it would be best to start small since it's your first party. /

Thinking back to the dozens of guests she'd already invited, as well as the many parties she'd hosted in her previous routes, Zai stifled a laugh.

/ **Zai** : That's very considerate of you. /

/ **V** : You don't think you'll be overwhelmed? /

/ **Zai** : I have the other members of the RFA helping me out, so I'm not worried. /

/ **V** : That's good. Families should rely on each other. It isn't good to do everything on your own. /

/ **Zai** : Do you consider the RFA to be your family, V? /

/ **V** : Yes. I consider every member of the RFA to be a part of my family. It's why I hope that you'll take good care of them for me. /

/ **Zai** : Why? Are you planning on going somewhere? /

/ **V** : Perhaps. /

Every time V had vanished, Zai was just as concerned as the others over his whereabouts. However, there was always one who worried more than the others.

/ **Zai** : Jumin will be sad to have missed you. You should stay until after the party so you can help us with preparations! /

/ **V** : I'm sure that the other members will provide you with enough assistance. /

/ **Zai** : Maybe, but from what I've heard, you've been quite distant from them recently. I feel like it would have a more positive effect on them if you stayed. /

/ **V** : ...I have been neglecting my duties more often than not these past months. You might be right. /

/ **V** : But this is an important trip, and I'm not sure if I can postpone it. /

/ **Zai** : Then maybe we should hold off on the party until we're sure you can attend. /

/ **V** : You're... quite determined to get me to stay, aren't you? /

/ **Zai** : Very! /

/ **V** : Alright, then. I didn't have anything planned except for the trip so I suppose I'll have to ask Jumin if I can stay with him for the time being. /

/ **Zai** : Nice! I can't wait to plan this party with you, V. I feel like it'll be one of the best ever. /

/ **V** : You're quite confident. I have faith in you. Talk to you soon, Zai. /

/ **Zai** : Later, V! /

 _V has left the chat room._

 _Zai has left the chat room._

Day 4 - 11:59 PM

. . .

ROUTE: ? ? ?


	10. ? ? Route - Day 5 - Part 1

Day 5 - 07:30 AM

 _reep...reep...Reep...Reep..REEP.._ **_REEPREEPREE_ **_-_

Zai almost launched her phone across the room after shutting off her alarm. However, she didn't, and after checking the time she realized that she'd overslept long enough to miss the song portion of her wake-up alert.

Groggily lifting the screen up to her face, she noticed several missed calls from both Jaehee and Zen. Double checking the time, she registered the fact that, no, she wasn't hallucinating due to sleep deprivation, but had indeed received _a dozen_ phone calls from Zen and Jaehee in under twenty minutes. Incredible.

Lying back and pulling up the covers to her chest, Zai decided to take a slow day. After opening the RFA chat, she realized that probably wasn't going to happen.

/ **Jaehee Kang** : OMG /

/ **Jaehee Kang** : Zai isn't answering Zen or I's calls. /

/ **Jaehee Kang** : How are we supposed to tell her the news? /

/ **Yoosung** : Maybe consider waiting for her to wake up like a normal person? /

/ **Jaehee Kang** : This is Urgent Information;; /

/ **Yoosung** : Sure but she's been working so hard! And V just confirmed the party date too! /

/ **Yoosung** : It's in just six days...he's acting like Jumin acts with you... /

/ **Jaehee Kang** : What is that supposed to mean? /

 _Zai has joined the chat room._

/ **Jaehee Kang** : Zai! /

/ **Yoosung** : Zai! How are you doing!? /

/ **Yoosung** : You're not being overworked are you? /

/ **Yoosung** : Do you need me to help with anything? /

/ **Zai** : Thank you for your concern, Yoosung, but I'm fine, honest.

/ **Zai** : How are things going with Seven? /

/ **Yoosung** : Luciel and I are doing fine! Thanks for asking! /

/ **Jaehee Kang** : Since when has he been 'Luciel' to you? /

/ **Yoosung** : Uhh... /

/ **Jaehee Kang** : Never mind that!

/ **Jaehee Kang** : Zai! /

/ **Jaehee Kang** : Something very important happened while you were asleep! /

/ **Zai** : I figured from all the calls you and Zen sent me. What is it? /

 _ZEN has joined the chat room._

/ **ZEN** : I GOT A NEW ROLE WITH ECHO GIRL! /

/ **Yoosung** : WHAT? NO WAY!

/ J **aehee Kang** : Zen! I was just about to tell her! /

/ **Zai:** Oh! Congratulations, Zen! /

/ **ZEN** : Thanks, Babe! I can't believe I got the role! It's a dream come true! /

/ **ZEN** : We should totally go out to celebrate! All three of us! ^^/

/ **Yoosung** : I need to go tell Luciel the news! /

 _Yoosung_ _has left the chat room_.

/ **Zai** : I'd love to, Zen! /

/ **Zai** : But V just announced the party date last night, so I don't think I can make it;; /

/ **Zai** : I'm sure Jaehee would enjoy it though ^^ /

/ **Jaehee Kang** : I would, but I will have to ask Mr. Han about it. /

 _Jumin Han has joined the chat room._

/ **Jumin Han** : Take the evening off, Assistant Kang. /

/ **Jaehee Kang** : What? Really? /

/ **Jumin Han** : Yes. I'll be having an important guest over tonight so you can go early. /

/ **ZEN** : Alright Jaehee! I'll pick you up. Is six good? /

/ **Jaehee Kang** : Six is fine ^^ /

/ **ZEN** : Sweet! Sorry, I'd talk more but I gotta go call the director. See you later! /

 _ZEN has left the chat room._

/ **Zai** : I'm so excited for you, Jaehee! You'll tell me how it goes, right? /

/ **Jaehee Kang** : Of course. /

/ **Jaehee Kang** : Mr. Han, if you don't mind me asking...who is it you are hosting tonight? /

/ **Jumin Han** : That is confidential information. /

/ **Zai** : It's V. /

/ **Jaehee Kang** : Oh? /

/ **Jumin Han** : How... /

/ **Zai** : Last night he said he was going to ask you if you'd let him stay with you until the party. /

/ **Zai** : So I'm assuming he's going to your place to talk it over? /

/ **Jumin Han** : It is...Something like that. /

/ **Jaehee Kang** : Mr. Han there is nothing to be ashamed of in wanting to spend an evening with a childhood friend. /

/ **Jumin Han** : I suppose so. /

/ **Jumin Han** : Still, it is slightly unprofessional of me to dismiss my employees for personal reasons such as these. /

/ **Zai** : There's no reason you can't take some time off once in a while to be with people you care about, Jumin. /

/ **Jumin Han** : ...If you say so. /

 _Jumin Han has left the chat room._

/ **Jaehee Kang** : I suppose I should go check on him. /

/ **Zai** : Okay! Tell me how it goes with Zen tonight, Jaehee! /

/ J **aehee Kang** : Definitely ^^ /

 _Jaehee Kang has left the chat room._

 _Zai has left the chat room._

After the conversation was over, Zai set her phone on the side table and pulled the blankets all the way over her head. She loved the RFA with all her heart, but sometimes a girl just had to sleep.

Day 5 - 09:16 AM

 _707 has joined the chat room_.

 _Yoosung_ _has joined the chat room_.

/ **707** : Whoa! I can't believe Zen got a job with Echo Girl! I should ask him to get me some autographs. /

/ **Yoosung** : Do you think he'll get me one too? /

/ **707** : Why wouldn't he? Besides! No one can resist the cuteness of Yoosung! /

/ **Yoosung** : Luciel! /

/ **707** : Aaaahh...even in text form... My name sounds so good when you say it! Do it again! /

/ **Yoosung** : What!? No! Now you're just being weird! /

/ **707** : Aww come on... I'll get you an autograph from someone even better than Echo Girl! /

/ **Yoosung** : Really!? Who? /

/ **707** : The Defender of Justice 707! /

/ **Yoosung** : ... /

 _Yoosung_ _has left the chat room_.

/ **707** : ! /

/ **707** : W-wait! Yoosung, come back! /

 _707 has left the chat room._

Day 5 - 10:33 AM

Zai woke up feeling moderately refreshed. As in, she didn't feel as much like a zombie as she did earlier in the morning. She covered up a yawn with her hand before slowly rising from the bed to get dressed. She made herself a bowl of cereal and absentmindedly scrolled through Seven and Yoosung's conversation before the phone buzzed in her palm and she pushed the food aside to lean forward on the table and answer it.

"Hello?" Zai waited for a few moments and almost started reaching for her bowl before she heard someone gasping for breath into the receiver. "...Hellooo?"

"Zai!" The phone burst to life with sound and Zai jumped, almost falling back and knocking the cereal over before steadying herself (and the bowl) again the counter.

"Jaehee? Is that you?" There was quiet for a few seconds after the apparent hyperventilation stopped.

"...Zai! I must apologize but I need your assistance most urgently!"

"What is it?"

"Mr. Han gave me the night off to go out with Zen, but I have nothing to wear for such an occasion! I can't show up in my office clothes for something like this!" Zai could tell that the other woman was close to weeping and she tried her best to reassure her.

"Jaehee? Jaehee! It's going to be all right. Zen doesn't care how you dress. He just wants you to be there to celebrate with him."

"Yes, but what if the paparazzi see us? He might get involved in a scandal!"

"It's just a little meeting between friends. If you really feel that worried about it, then you can just wear your office clothes and pretend it's about business."

The line was silent, then a voice so small came out of the receiver that Zai had to press the phone right up against her ear to even hear a word.

"... What if...I actually wanted him to...to see me as more than a friend...?" Zai took a fortifying breath. Now was a tipping point in Jaehee's life. She couldn't screw this up.

"Listen, Jaehee. I may have only known Zen for a few days," As well as the many she had known him through all her time doing his route. "But I know that he cares deeply about you. A scandal could never keep him away from acting, and you shouldn't risk his, or your happiness just for something that may or may not happen." She could almost feel Jaehee's anxiety through the phone. "I think that you should go for it. Don't let anything stop you from doing what you feel is right!"

Jaehee made a noise of understanding before she gasped lightly.

"But Zai...What about you?" Her? Oh yeah, she'd forgotten about that.

"Don't worry about me okay? That's a discussion for another time."

"Alright, if you say so..." The two women basked in each other's presence for a moment.

"Zai...one more thing?"

"Yes, Jaehee?"

"If I sent you pictures of clothes, could you help me pick an outfit?" Zai did her best to stifle her giggles but a few slipped out as she rushed to answer the question.

"Sure, Jaehee."

Day 5 - 03:18 PM

Zai had just finished responding to another batch of prospective party attendees when she spotted the notification telling her that a new chat was open. Tapping the alert and letting it automatically open the RFA app for her, she made a mental reminder to eat lunch soon.

 _Zai has joined the chat room._

/ **Zai** : Hey Yoosung! What's up? /

/ **Yoosung** : Zai! You're really close with Zen now, right? Do you think you can get me an autograph from Echo Girl? /

/ **Zai** : Uhh...I don't know. I guess I could ask for you? /

/ **Yoosung** : Aaah, thanks! I'm a big fan of hers! /

/ **Zai** : That's cool. Personally, I'm more invested in Zen's role. /

 _Jaehee Kang has joined the chat room._

/ **Jaehee Kang** : Any production with Zen in it is incapable of failure. /

/ **Zai** : Agreed. /

/ **Yoosung** : If you two are so close with Zen now, then how do you feel about him acting with Echo Girl lolololol /

/ **Jaehee Kang** : Zen has a responsibility to his fans. It is not our business to interfere with his acting career. /

/ **Zai** : I don't know. I guess I'm fine with it as long as there aren't any kissing scenes. /

/ **Yoosung** : Oooh...is that jealousy I see? /

/ **Zai** : Yes;; /

/ **Jaehee Kang** : Zai...you know you cannot let your feelings for Zen affect his work. /

/ **Zai** : I know;;;; But still... I can't help it if I don't want him kissing anyone else but you or I. /

/ **Jaehee** **Kang** : What... /

/ **Yoosung** : Wow! So you three really are together then? /

/ **Jaehee** **Kang** : What? /

/ **Zai** : Jaehee you already said that... /

/ **Jaehee** **Kang** : Yes, but I wasn't sure the first time so I decided to repeat myself. Please explain. /

/ **Zai** : Well, like, uh... I mean. /

/ **Yoosung** : I think she's trying to say that Zen's affections belong to you two? /

/ **Zai** : Yeah! That. /

/ **Jaehee** **Kang** : Zai... /

Oh, no, she didn't want Jaehee falling back down the slippery slope of being just one of Zen's fans. They'd made too much progress for her to turn around now.

/ **Zai** : Jaehee you should think about it first before you turn down the idea. At least consider it? /

/ **Zai** : I know Zen is completely okay with it if that's what you're worried about. /

/ **Jaehee** **Kang** : I'm not sure... /

/ **Zai** : If you're confused about it then why don't you ask him yourself at your date tonight? /

/ **Jaehee** **Kang** : Date? Who said anything about a date!? It is simply a celebratory outing between two members of the RFA. /

/ **Zai** : Jaehee. It is a Date. Between you and Zen. You are going on a date with Zen. /

/ **Yoosung** : I can't believe Jaehee is trying to friend-zone herself for Zen. /

/ **Zai** : Yeah;; I wish I was going too but I have so much work to do! /

Yoosung sent a few crying emojis and Zai had a hard time holding in her giggles.

/ **Yoosung** : I'll keep you company, Zai! I'll even send you selfies like Zen does! /

Her screen was then filled with a picture of Yoosung sitting at his desk while waving at the phone's camera. LOLOL could obviously be seen on the computer screen behind him, but Zai's eyes were drawn to the article of clothing that the lanky boy was currently drowning in.

/ **Zai** : Hey Yoosung...that wouldn't happen to be Seven's jacket you're wearing, is it? /

Unsurprisingly, the chat was silent for mere moments before it exploded again.

/ **Yoosung** : AAAHHHH I FORGOT RETURN HIS JACKET BEFORE I LEFT! /

/ **Jaehee** **Kang** : They do say that love dulls one's senses. /

/ **Yoosung** : THAT ISN'T TRUE IN THE SLIGHTEST BUT I STILL HAVE TO GIVE LUCIEL HIS JACKET BACK! /

/ **Yoosung** : Sorry, Zai but I have to leave right now or it'll be way too late by the time I get back home! Maybe next time! /

 _Yoosung_ _has left the chat room_.

/ **Zai** : ...So much for that. I appreciate the thought, though. /

/ **Jaehee Kang** : I'm honestly surprised that Luciel has let things progress this far with Yoosung. /

/ **Zai** : I'm not! Those two are so incredibly obvious. I'm happy for them. /

/ **Jaehee** **Kang** : As am I. /

/ **Zai** : Now we just need you to be happy for yourself! /

/ **Jaehee** **Kang** : Zai, please... /

/ **Zai** : I'm not letting this go until you accept the fact that you deserve good things too. /

/ **Jaehee** **Kang** : I do not see why you are so determined to make me accept this. /

/ **Zai** : Because apparently, you can only have faith in yourself if other people have it in you first. /

/ **Jaehee** **Kang** : You... Zai.../

Zai stared at her phone's screen and willed for Jaehee to understand that she could be selfish and indulgent once in a while, that she could actually enjoy things for herself without feeling guilty about it.

/ **Jaehee** **Kang** : I will think about it. Please do not press me on the matter any further. /

/ **Zai** : I wouldn't pressure you like that. /

/ **Jaehee** **Kang** : I know, and I appreciate it. /

/ **Jaehee** **Kang** : I should start getting ready to leave the office. Have you eaten yet? /

At the reminder, Zai's stomach immediately made a noise of discomfort, and she remembered that the only thing she'd eaten that day had been the cereal she'd had for breakfast.

/ **Zai** : Um, no. /

/ **Jaehee** **Kang** : Zai. /

/ **Zai** : I was going to eat but then I got distracted;; /

/ **Jaehee** **Kang** : Then stop focusing on my problems and look after yourself. /

/ **Zai** : Fine, I'm going. /

She almost signed out then but was reminded of something she'd promised earlier.

/ **Zai** : Do you still need my help with your outfit? /

/ **Jaehee** **Kang** : ... /

/ **Jaehee** **Kang** : Yes please;;/


	11. ? ? Route - Day 5 - Part 2

Day 5 - 05:45 PM

 _POV: Jumin Mode_

Jumin was standing at the entrance for a good while waiting for V to arrive. He'd already said goodbye to assistant Kang and wished her a good evening with Zen over an hour ago, but V still hadn't shown up and he was getting bored.

He could have waited for his staff to notify him of V's arrival from his suite, but for some reason, he wanted to greet the other man personally. Looking down at his phone, he decided to kill some time.

 _Jumin Han has joined the chat room._

/ **Zai** : Jumin! Hi! /

/ **Jumin Han** : Hello Zai, how are you doing? /

/ **Zai** : Nothing much at the moment! What about you? /

/ **Jumin Han** : I am waiting for V to arrive. /

There were no responses for a while, and Jumin started worrying if Zai had left and forgotten about their conversation when she finally replied.

/ **Zai** : Oh, have you been waiting long? Sorry if it seemed like I vanished. My food was done heating up ^^ /

/ **Jumin Han** : It has been nearly an hour now. /

/ **Zai** : Whoa, that long? Where are you waiting? /

/ **Jumin Han** : In front of the building. I wanted to greet him first. /

/ **Zai** : I get it. You must be very close if you're willing to wait outside for him so long when it's almost late. /

Seeing Zai's words on his screen immediately made him pause and think of when he was younger and there was nothing except himself and another boy holding hands while staring at the sky; making promises that would never be kept and _do not go down that path, Jumin Han_.

Shaking his thoughts away, he went back to typing.

/ **Jumin Han** : Yes, well, I would be a bad host if I did not greet him personally. /

/ **Zai** : How responsible~ /

/ **Zai** : Are you sure I'm not distracting you? /

/ **Jumin Han** : I might be mistaken, but shouldn't it be the other way around? /

/ **Zai** : You might be right lololol /

/ **Zai** : I still have some emails to respond to before I'm done for the day. /

/ **Jumin Han** : Still? I did not think that we had invited that many people. By all rights, you should not have this much work to do... /

There was another pause, and Jumin took the time to look up and check if V had arrived while he was focused on his phone. He hadn't, but Zai had responded by the time he looked back down at his screen.

/ **Zai** : Does it seem that way? Maybe I'm just slow to respond;; /

/ **Jumin Han** : My apologies, I didn't mean any offense. /

/ **Zai** : lololol It's ok Jumin, I'm just trying to make sure this party is the best it can be. /

/ **Jumin Han** : I appreciate your efforts. It seems V was correct in his assumption that you are exactly the thing we needed to revive the RFA. /

/ **Zai** : ... I just really want to make sure that this turns out well... /

/ **Zai** : It's felt like such a short amount of time, but I care about the RFA a lot... /

/ **Zai** : I want this party to be something that people will remember for a long time. /

Jumin took the time to reread Zai's messages several times. They seemed touching at first, but there was an underlying sadness to them that he couldn't place. Why did she feel so strongly about a group of strangers she had only met five days ago due to a _hacker_ of all things?

/ **Jumin Han** : Zai are you sure that you do not need a break from all this? /

/ **Zai** : Yup! Thank you for caring about me, though. As long I can help everyone, this will all be worth it! /

/ **Jumin Han** : You're quite a unique person, Zai. /

/ **Zai** : I know ^^ /

Jumin gave a little huff of amusement as Zai's response; she reminded him of someone else's selfless attitude. He was about to type a reply when he noticed a new notification in the chat that made him hold his breath.

 _V has joined the chat room._

/ **Zai** : ? /

/ **V** : Jumin, look up. /

After reading the message, Jumin raised his head fast enough to hear a crack (he'd be feeling that later). In front of him was a lanky man with hair that reminded him of the sky and glittering cerulean eyes obscured by thick glasses.

"V..." His grip on his phone loosened, and he would have dropped it if not for the other man catching it almost last second and handing it back to him.

"Jumin." Hearing his name in that voice...No, do not go there.

"What took you so long?" His words were almost breathless as he appraised his childhood friend of so many years. Said friend was looking more than a little apprehensive as he was scrutinized under Jumin's gaze.

"Sorry, I had a few loose ends to tie up."

"You could have called me."

"I know, it slipped my mind."

"Well you are here now, so there is no use dwelling on it." Jumin reached for V's hand and tried not to think about how their fingers fit together perfectly as he led the other man up to his place of residence. "Elizabeth the 3rd has missed you."

The small smile on V's face completely wiped away Jumin's next thoughts, but the feeling of ' _I missed you, too_ ' persisted.

Day 5 - 6:22 PM

/ **Zai** : ...Jumin? V? /

 _Jumin Han has left the chat room._

/ **Zai** : ... /

 _V has left the chat room._

/ **Zai** : I guess they ditched me! The nerve... /

/ **Zai** : I hope Zen and Jaehee are having a better time than I am;; /

 _Zai has left the chat room._


	12. ? ? Route - Day 5 - Part 3

Day 5 - 07:18 PM

 _POV: Jaehee Mode_

Zen had come to pick her up a little after six, and currently, they were sitting in a fancy restaurant that had been recommended to them by both Seven and Jumin. Needless to say, the atmosphere was a little tense.

 _"Oh wow! Is that Zen?" "Zen! Can I have your autograph?"_ This was the eighth time that the two of them had been interrupted in less than an hour, and it was starting to grate on Jaehee's nerves.

"Of course, ladies! Anything for my deserving fans~" The girls swooned and Zen penned his name onto their napkins, or phone sleeves, or in one case, someone's _cheek_. Jaehee had no less than four glasses of wine and she was about to wave over their waiter for a fifth. If it was any sort of consolation, Zen looked like he was getting tired of it too.

"Man, if I had known that this place was going to be packed with my fans, I would've picked somewhere else to celebrate." His face was still pressed into a neat- if not slightly strained -smile. But his voice was weary, as though the very thought of having to sign another autograph would force his soul out of his body. Looking at Jaehee's stiff posture, he reached over and tapped her on the shoulder to get her attention. Jaehee jolted but quickly looked up to flash him what she hoped was a reassuring look.

"Jaehee...? Are you feeling well? We can leave if you're not hungry." In truth, she was starving. She'd skipped lunch to make sure all her work was done on time before leaving early, but the atmosphere of the establishment was stifling.

"I'm fine. Please, this evening is about your success. Don't let me interfere with your celebration." He gave her a confused expression after hearing that.

"What are you talking about? You're acting like you're not included in this. I invited you along. If you're not having fun, I'd rather you tell me." He leaned forward on the table and Jaehee subconsciously shifted at his movement. Zen narrowed his eyes at her before leaning back in his chair and assuming a blank air around himself.

"You know...I'm not really feeling it. We should just go. Unless you want to stay?" To an outsider, his posture and expression seemed nonchalant, but Jaehee could hear the discomfort in his voice. Neither of them was having a particularly good time. The silence was deafening, and Jaehee held on for as long as she could before she decided that _enough was enough_.

Downing the rest of her wine in one go, she stood up to pay for the bill before grabbing Zen's hand and pulling him along behind her. Several people were gaping as they witnessed Jaehee in all her short-statured glory dragging a much taller Zen out of the building, with a completely lovestruck expression on his face.

Once they were a respectable distance away from the restaurant, a near breathless Jaehee finally turned around to face Zen, who was looking at her with pure adoration. Taking a deep breath, she said the words that had been in her head all night.

"Would you like to get coffee with me?"

Even at night, His smile was blinding.

Day 5 - 08:36 PM

 _POV: ZEN Mode_

It was half past eight, but Zen had never felt more alive. As soon as they ditched the stuffy restaurant and his (overbearing) fans, Jaehee had pulled him back to his motorcycle and the two of them rode to the cafe where she and Zai had met for the first time. They apparently closed late, and Zen had never been happier about having a place almost all to himself. He and Jaehee ordered coffee before sitting at the same table Jaehee had sat at four days prior, and just talked.

They both traded stories about everything they could think about, from Jumin ' _Mr. Trust Fund Kid'_ Han, to Elizabeth the 3rd and the horrors of C-hair, as well as their dreams for the future.

"I know your career is just starting out, but what do you think your life will be like when you retire?" Jaehee was absentmindedly stirring her mocha (with three shots of espresso) while Zen took quick sips of his flat white.

"After I retire? I don't know. I always assumed I'd be acting and stuff forever." He set his coffee down and thought for a moment. "I guess I'd settle down with some cute girls, maybe adopt a couple kids and some dogs..."

He didn't notice Jaehee's pause until he looked up and saw her eyes boring a hole through her coffee mug.

"Jaehee..?" She lowered her head for a mere second before raising it suddenly. Her expression was so intense that he felt like his very soul was being scrutinized to the most minute detail.

"You and Zai have the most bizarre ways of thinking."

"W-why do you say that?" She bowed her head once more and removed her glasses, sliding them into the pocket of the formal business jacket she was wearing over the classy and simple blue dress that Zai had helped her pick out earlier that evening.

"The two of you...you think that things can work out between more than two people. As though three people can be happy together without any problems in life."

"So that's what this is about."

"Pardon?" Her expression was a confused one, and Zen would rather have that adorably flushed look from racing out of the fancy establishment together back on her face.

"I think that any number of people, not just two, can be happy together. As long as everyone is in agreement of course." He tried to flash a reassuring look at her but it only seemed to make her withdraw more.

"Thinking like that is selfish. There are people with a duty to others, and not just themselves." Even though he could feel the conviction in her words as she spoke, he could also sense that she was saying this mostly for herself as opposed to anyone else.

"Oh, Jaehee... Wouldn't it be more selfish to withhold myself from others? What if I could help someone by loving them? Would you call that selfish?"

"Well, no-"

"Then I'm doing the right thing, aren't I?" He grinned at the stunned expression on her face as he leaned back to take a slow sip of his coffee.

"Still...Wouldn't it be self-centered of someone to want more than one person for themselves? Shouldn't it make more sense to simply be happy with one?" Zen sighed. Jaehee was obvious, but also oblivious, if that made any sense.

"Jaehee, if you're worried about liking both me and Zai, there's no reason to be." At that statement, she jerked in her seat so harshly that her mug would have tipped over had Zen not steadied it first. "Careful..." His warning went unheard, as Jaehee was too busy trying to come up with a way to refute his claim.

After watching her flounder for a while, Zen decided to make his move. Reaching over and entwining his hands with hers, he stood up and leaned forward so he could press the gentlest of kisses to Jaehee's forehead. She stopped moving immediately and he took a moment to breathe in her scent of coffee beans and ink, before sitting back in his seat. He withdrew one of his hands so that he could pick up his cup, but left the other connected with hers as he gave an encouraging squeeze. Jaehee could only stare at their connected hands while she stuttered for words.

"Z-Zen.."

"Jaehee."

The two of them locked eyes for several seconds until Jaehee managed to formulate a reply.

"Is...is this really okay?" Zen hummed and set his coffee down before giving her the most loving look he could muster.

"With me? Yes! Totally. I can't speak for Zai, though from all the hints she's been dropping, I'd say she's more than okay with it. I guess we've just been waiting for you to realize that it's okay too." He watched as Jaehee took a few deep breaths to steady herself before she squeezed his hand as well.

"Then I suppose...I could give it a try. If you're both truly willing to be with me in that way." Her expression was hopeful, and Zen couldn't help but smile back at her like she was the only thing that mattered in the whole world.

Day 5 - 10:14 PM

Zai was already in bed when the chat started filling up with messages. But she hadn't been asleep for long, and it was her natural response to pick up the phone and open the RFA app even at this hour. So when her vision had ceased its blurriness and she could properly read the texts, she screamed.

 _ZEN has joined the chat room._

/ **ZEN** : So guess who finally convinced Jaehee to accept the fact that not just one, but TWO people want to date her at the same time? /

/ **ZEN** : This guy! /

/ **707** : lolololol there's no way she's too much of a fangirl lololol /

/ **ZEN** : Don't believe me? Just wait until Zai gets on! /

/ **707** : Whaat? She shouldn't be up this late! Our party planner needs her rest! /

/ **ZEN** : Yeah but this is important! We gotta make it official before she changes her mind! /

 _Zai has joined the chat room._

/ **Zai** : OMG ZEN PLEASE TELL ME YOU'RE NOT JOKING /

/ **ZEN** : I'M NOT! /

/ **Zai** : WHERE IS SHE? /

/ **ZEN** : I just dropped her off at home a little while ago. Maybe she went to sleep? /

/ **Zai** : Aww, I'll just have to catch her tomorrow. /

/ **ZEN** : You should've seen her! She was so cute the whole time. /

/ **Zai** : Now you're making me jealous! I wish I got to go too;; /

/ **ZEN** : Next time we'll go out again with the three of us! /

/ **707** : I still think you're faking it! There's no way Jaehee would break fan rankings to hit it up with Zen! /

/ **Zai** : Maybe she's finally learned that she can have good things too! /

/ **ZEN** : It's about time... /

After a while, Zai's cheeks began to hurt from smiling at Zen's recollection of their exit from the restaurant that Jumin and Seven had set them up with.

/ **ZEN** : Then she literally pulled me right out of there! It was so hot I thought I was going to die on the spot. /

/ **Zai** : Possessive Jaehee sounds like so much fun;; /

/ **Zai** : Do you think she'll ever act like that over me? /

/ **707** : I'm sure if you flirt with enough people that aren't Zen, you'll get her to act out eventually. /

/ **Zai** : I'd never do that to Jaehee! /

/ **Zai** : At least, not without her permission first ^^ /

/ **ZEN** : What about me!? Do you want me to act like that too? /

/ **Zai** : A possessive Zen? I don't know. You might be too wild for me! /

Their playful banter extended long into the night, and before she knew it, Zai was feeling drowsy.

/ **ZEN** : Zai keeps replying later and later, I think she's finally getting tired out. /

/ **707** : Good! She should get some sleep! /

/ **ZEN** : Says the hypocrite. /

/ **707** : Well at least I don't smoke! /

/ **ZEN** : Hey! I quit those. Mostly. /

/ **707** : lolololol /

/ **ZEN** : At least my diet isn't completely made of Soda and Chips! /

 _Zai has left the chat room._

/ **ZEN** : Oh, I guess she fell asleep. /

/ **707** : A shining example for us all. /

/ **ZEN** : Yeah yeah I get it. Night, Seven. /

/ **707** : Bye! Don't let the bed-cats bite! /

 _ZEN has left the chat room._

 _707 has left the chat room._


	13. ? ? Route - Day 6 - Part 1

Day 6 - 09:20 AM

Zai had decided to get an early start, and after eating breakfast she sat down to start working on the piles of emails that she had received overnight. In the middle of responding to an email sent from a cheese enthusiast who was wondering if they'd have properly aged camembert at the party, her phone started its classic humming.

"Hello?"

"...Zai?"

"Zen! Good morning! Is there something you needed?" She waited as the phone became quiet except for a few soft breaths on either side of the line. Suddenly the silence was broken by a soft sob echoing through the receiver.

"Zai, I think I messed up.."

"What? Zen? Are you okay?"

"... This morning, Echo Girl, the pop singer who was supposed to be co-starring with me in my new role? She came to my house and.." Oh, oh no. Zai knew where this was headed.

Huffing with frustration, Zai sat up in her seat and lowered her phone so that she could speak into it clearly.

"Zen, listen. No matter what happened last night, I know you. You'd never do anything untoward to someone and I know that you'd never play with me or Jaehee's feelings. So I want you to stop feeling guilty right now. There's no reason for it." She waited until she heard his noise of confirmation before continuing. "Also, I know you're probably worried about your career right now, and I'm telling you, this is just another bump in the road. There will be times like this in the lives of any actor, so don't be afraid okay? You've got me, and Jaehee, and the rest of the RFA supporting you, so rely on us sometimes, alright?" She was nearly breathless by the end of her rant but she could hear Zen's faint laughter when she lifted the phone back up to her ear.

"Ahh, babe. I honestly just called because I wanted to hear your voice as reassurance, but... After listening to you say all that! I feel better, thank you." She smiled and nodded even though she knew he couldn't see her.

"All in a day's work!"

"No, no. You...really care about me, huh?" At that, Zai couldn't hold back the blush that appeared on her face.

"Well, I mean, of course! I care about everyone in the RFA."

"Zai~ Your feelings for me go beyond what you feel for everyone else in the RFA. In fact, I guess I could say your feelings for me are more similar to the ones Jaehee has for us." Now that, she couldn't deny.

"Ah, I-!" Now his laughter was more pronounced.

"It's okay! In fact, I think I would really like that. All three of us together? It sounds like a dream, but it sounds like one worth pursuing." She paused. Could she really do this? The self-indulgent idea that she could have both Zen and Jaehee together, with her. Covering her eyes with one hand, she tried to keep her voice steady as she spoke.

"Zen..are you sure? I mean, we're already sharing Jaehee. Would it really be okay for all of us to share each other?" She held her breath as Zen got his laughing under control.

"I don't see why not. After all, we're basically half in love with each other anyways." Funny, she'd thought the same thing a few days ago.

"Alright, then. Next time we have the chance to meet up, we can talk about it."

"Sure! Now I have to go call the director and see where we are regarding my role. If I don't have it anymore... I don't know."

"Remember what I said, okay Zen?"

"Of course, how could I forget?"

The phone disconnected and Zai let her head rest in her hands for a few moments as she got her blush under control. This hadn't been what she was planning, but there was no way she was going to let this opportunity go.

Day 6 - 12:45 PM

It was past noon by the time Zai had gotten through the bulk of her emails. There were still a few more she had to reply to be the end of the day but at this point, she could afford to take a break and make herself lunch. Standing in front of the microwave, she opened the RFA app to see if anything important had happened while she was working.

 _Zai has joined the chat room._

/ **Jumin Han** : Zai, hello. /

/ **Zai** : Hi Jumin! /

/ **Jumin Han** : I must apologize for leaving so abruptly last night. /

/ **Zai** : It's fine! V had arrived then, right? /

/ **Jumin Han** : Yes. He must have been exhausted from running errands yesterday seeing as he is still asleep. /

/ **Zai** : He's staying in your house? /

/ **Jumin Han** : He is sharing my suite, yes. /

/ **Zai** : Wow, I knew you two were close but I didn't think it was that close. /

/ **Jumin Han** : We are childhood friends. /

/ **Zai** : That... wasn't what I meant, but ok. /

Holding in her enthusiasm, she realized that even Jumin had a weakness, even if it was for a certain man with sky-colored hair.

 _ZEN has joined the chat room._

/ **Zai** : Zenny! Is everything okay? /

/ **ZEN** : Aahh...bad news. /

/ **Jumin Han** : Hmm? /

/ **Zai** : Oh no... don't tell me they... /

/ **ZEN** : I lost the role;; /

/ **Zai** : ;;;;;; /

/ **Jumin Han** : What? Why? /

/ **ZEN** : Echo Girl came to my house last night and accosted me. /

/ **ZEN** : Then later she told her manager that I had tried to assault her. /

/ **ZEN** : So now they've officially taken me off the production and are going to the press. /

/ **Zai** : What!? That's awful! /

/ **Jumin Han** : I see. My apologies. /

Zai had lived through this scenario several times, yet each time she was filled with rage at the thought of another person (who wasn't Jaehee) touching Zen and trying to entice him into a relationship. They only wanted his good looks and his youthful stardom to bolster their own reputations. She took a deep breath and tried to calm herself down.

/ **ZEN** : It's okay. I don't mind losing the role..but Echo Girl is really popular. /

/ **ZEN** : If she wanted to, she could drag my reputation through the mud and no one would care about my side of the story. /

/ **Zai** : Don't worry, Zen! I'll make sure they can't slander your good name. /

/ **Jumin Han** : How do you plan on doing that? /

/ **Zai** : Uhh... /

/ **Jumin Han** : I shall help. /

/ **Zai** : Wow Jumin...That's really philanthropic of you. /

/ **Jumin Han** : I know. /

/ **ZEN** : You don't have to be so smug about it... /

Zai laughed. Even if they didn't get along most of the time, she was glad that Jumin and Zen were still friends.


	14. ? ? Route - Day 6 - Part 2

Day 6 - 02:46 PM

 _POV: Jumin Mode_

Looking up from his phone, Jumin noticed that his staff was paging him.

"Yes?"

"Sir there is a Ms. Echo Girl here to see you." Wasn't that the same girl who had apparently been doing her best to ruin Zen's reputation. What was she here for?

"Send her up."

"Yes, Sir."

Jumin sat in his foyer as he waited for Echo Girl to arrive. V was showering at the moment and he wanted her gone by the time the other man was done.

"Jumin Han!"

"...Yes?" At the shrill voice of the young woman currently invading his home, he turned around to see her huffing and puffing as she stood in the doorway.

"You and Zen both rejected me...so I'm going to take my revenge on the RFA!"

"Really, now?"

"Yes! It'll be like a bomb! When I'm done with you two, there won't be anything left for your petty organization to stand on!" He watched as her face turned red with anger as he maintained his calm demeanor.

"I see. Thank you for telling me. I'll make sure to have security escort you out so you cannot bother anyone else. I appreciate the warning." As soon as he said that, he paged his staff to have them come and retrieve the now ranting young woman.

"Don't just look down on me! I mean it! You and Zen will be ruined when I'm finished! The RFA will never host parties again!" He stared with the blankest expression he could muster as Echo Girl was dragged, kicking and screaming, all the way out of the building, and sighed. Dealing with emotional people was exhausting.

"...Jumin? Who was that?" Hearing that soft voice immediately wiped away his exhaustion, and Jumin turned around to see V stepping out of the bedroom fully dressed. The only indication that he had recently showered was the towel that he was currently using to dry himself off, and the water droplets that continued to cling to his teal hair.

"Oh, her? It was nothing." While walking to the kitchen to prepare the two of them a late lunch, he sent a message to his head of security, as well as Jaehee, that he was not to be bothered for the rest of the day.

Day 6 - 06:29 PM

 _ZEN has joined the chat room._

/ **ZEN** : Agh...this sucks. /

/ **707** : What's wrong? /

/ **ZEN** : Some of my fans have turned against me. /

/ **ZEN** : They've started calling me a womanizer... /

/ **707** : No way! I thought your fans were like..super loyal or something! /

/ **ZEN** : Yeah well Echo Girl is so much more popular than I am. /

/ **707** : Maybe you should try to look for another job? /

/ **ZEN** : I could but who would hire me? /

 _Jumin Han has joined the chat room._

/ **Jumin Han** : You could do a cat food advertisement for me~ /

/ **ZEN** : WHAT!? No! /

/ **Jumin Han** : Why not? /

/ **ZEN** : I'm! Allergic! to! Cats! /

/ **Jumin Han** : So? /

/ **ZEN** : I can't act if all I'm doing is sneezing nonstop! /

/ **Jumin Han** : Take some allergy medication. /

/ **ZEN** : That stuff is gross... /

/ **Jumin Han** : So?

/ **Jumin Han** : Do you have any other options? /

/ **ZEN** : I'd rather not do any jobs at all if that's the only thing you're offering me. /

/ **Jumin Han** : Suit yourself. /

/ **707** : Oh! Oh! Pick me! Pick me! /

/ **707** : I love cats and Elly! I can be a good kitty! Meooww! /

 _Jumin Han has left the chat room._

/ **707** : ;; /

/ **ZEN** : If I could give the job to you, I would, Seven. /

/ **707** : Thanks, but you're not the one with the cash money! /

/ **ZEN** : Eugh, don't remind me. /

 _ZEN has left the chat room._

 _707 has left the chat room._

Day 6 - 09:20 PM

Zai was exhausted. She'd replied to over a hundred emails today alone. Thinking back to her first party, she'd invited about twenty-seven people. Now there were dozens of invitees who had come out of the woodworks to get a chance to participate in Rika's fundraising party.

"Except, this time it's my party, and I'm doing a better job than she ever was." Zai couldn't help but feel slightly bitter over the fact that every time she hosted a party, she was compared to Rika. Rika's beauty, her graciousness, her elegance and expertise in planning. Rika Rika Rika. She was sick of it.

Sighing and letting the tension fall from her shoulders, she let her face rest on top the keyboard of her computer, ignoring the error noises from her pressing multiple buttons at once. This could be her last party ever. She didn't want the RFA's memories of her to be confused with their sadness over Rika. Her predecessor. The woman who had apparently planned this all out from the start.

Thinking on it a bit more, she didn't understand. Unknown had always messaged her to go to Rika's apartment. She also knew that he'd lied about himself being an exchange student when he tried to kidnap her multiple times. So what did he want? What was it about her that made him need her so badly? And what was the point of bringing her to the apartment and connecting her phone with the RFA app if it just meant that he would try to steal her away before the party could even happen?

Her head started hurting the more she focused on it, so she decided to consider something else.

Unknown had said that he couldn't be saved. But was that really true? If given the chance, could she change his fate? Each time she was almost kidnapped by him and managed to get away with Zen, the apartment would explode. She knew that no one could survive that blast, and each time her heart ached with sadness for the boy who was apparently so devoted to his cause that he would blow himself up for it.

Steeling her nerves, she realized that her plan would have to change.

Whether or not the RFA would forgive her for it was another matter.

Day 6 - 11:55 PM

 _Jaehee Kang has joined the chat room._

/ **Jaehee Kang** : Oh... no...Zen.. /

/ **Zai** : You heard the news, Jaehee? /

/ **Jaehee Kang** : Yes, Mr. Han told me. /

/ **Jaehee Kang** : This is terrible. We must do something. /

/ **707** : Aahh, Mr. Trust Fund Kid is already paying me to help clear their names! /

/ **Zai** : Their? /

/ **707** : Oh, you weren't told? /

/ **707** : Echo Girl came out with a press statement saying that Jumin is an evil guy who entices women and then traps them in his "dungeon" or whatever. /

/ **Zai** : What...why would people even believe that? I mean as far as I know, he isn't even interested in women at all. /

/ **707** : lolololololol funny you should say that. /

/ **Jaehee Kang** : Luciel...no... /

/ **707** : Does Jumin Han is Gay? /

/ **Zai** : I'm going to pretend you didn't say that. /

/ **Jaehee Kang** : What? /

/ **Zai** : So yeah what were we talking about? Zen and Jumin's public images, right? /

/ **Jaehee Kang** : Yes. /

/ **Zai** : Yeah, what exactly can we do about that? /

/ **Jaehee Kang** : I don't know. /

/ **707** : Well you should come up with a plan for how to restore their reputations later. /

/ **707** : 'Cause Zen hasn't responded to any of my texts for the whole day. /

/ **Zai** : I hope he's okay... /

/ **Zai** : Maybe I should check on him? /

/ **707** : What...like.. go to his house or something? /

/ **Zai** : Yeah! I'm sure a visit will cheer him up. /

/ **Jaehee Kang** : Zai, Zen's reputation is already fragile enough as it is. Are you sure that visiting him alone is a good idea?

/ **Zai** : Honestly? I don't think it can get any worse at this point. /

/ **Zai** : Plus he needs reassurance that we still care for him! /

/ **707** : Yeah Jaehee! I wish my cutie Yoosung was here to keep me company while I look up scandals involving Echo Girl! /

/ **Zai** : Wait, what? Why are you doing that? /

/ **707** : I was paid! Cha-ching! /

/ **Jaehee Kang** : I'm not entirely sure if that's legal. /

/ **707** : Oh it's definitely legal. I'm only using reputable news sources for all my information! /

/ **707** : At least, the ones not related to her background check. /

/ **Zai** : Seven you're scary;; /

/ **707** : No I'm not! I only use my powers for good! /

/ **Zai** : Anyone can say that... /

/ **707** : Rude! /

/ **Jaehee Kang** : We're getting off topic. How do we help Zen and Mr. Han? /

/ **707** : I'm already looking up ways to refute Echo Girl's claims of them both being heart-stealing womanizers. /

/ **707** : As for emotional support... /

/ **707** : We should definitely send Zai to Zen's house! /

/ **707** : Maybe dress her up in a cute nurse outfit so she can give him a physical! /

/ **Zai** : I...ah... /

/ **Jaehee Kang** : How inappropriate... /

/ **Zai** : That aside, I do think a visit would help him. /

/ **Jaehee Kang** : Zai... /

/ **707** : I'll call Jumin and ask him what he thinks. /

/ **Jaehee Kang** : Luciel. /

 _707 has left the chat room._

/ J **aehee Kang** : Unbelievable! /

/ **Zai** : Jaehee, what are you so worried about? /

/ **Jaehee Kang** : ...Nothing. I am only concerned for Zen's reputation and career. /

/ **Zai** : We both know that isn't true, but there's no use harping on it now. /

/ **Zai** : Anyways, it's late and I've been working all day;; /

/ **Zai** : I'm going to bed. Talk to you tomorrow, Jaehee! /

/ **Jaehee Kang** : ...Goodnight Zai. /

 _Zai has left the chat room._

 _Jaehee Kang has left the chat room._


	15. ? ? Route - Day 7 - Part 1

Day 7 - 7:10 AM

 _Hello! Hi there! How are you? Today it's time for something n-_

Throwing the covers off of herself, Zai leaped out of bed and rushed to get ready. There was so much to do in so little time and she needed to get a head start on the day if she was going to get her idea to work.

After a quick shower and breakfast, she hurriedly opened her laptop as she was signing into the RFA app.

 _Zai has joined the chat room._

/ **Zai** : Jumin! /

/ **Jumin Han** : Zai, you're up early. /

/ **Zai** : I wake up at this time almost every day! /

/ **Jumin Han** : Then you're up on time. Is that better? /

/ **Zai** : I guess if you want to be sassy about it. /

She could just imagine his smug grin through her screen and Zai was hard pressed not to feel irritated about it, no matter how hard it was.

/ **Zai** : So did you get Seven's message last night? /

/ **Jumin Han** : Yes. I agree, it would be a good idea to send someone to Zen's house. /

/ **Jumin Han** : You can convince him to take my offer to act in my cat commercial. /

/ **Zai** : Yeah! I can convince him to /

/ **Zai** : Wait, what? I don't remember that being part of the plan. /

/ **Jumin Han** : It would be beneficial to both parties. /

/ **Jumin Han** : I thought you were concerned about his career, Zai. /

/ **Jumin Han** : Perhaps I was mistaken? /

No matter how many times they had this conversation, Zai never failed to be annoyed at his attitude.

 _Jaehee Kang has joined the chat room._

/ **Jaehee Kang** : I must disagree... /

/ **Zai** : Hi Jaehee. Why are you so against me going to Zen's place? /

/ **Jaehee Kang** : I just think that Zen shouldn't have any more opportunities for his reputation to be ruined any further. /

/ **Zai** : If you're so worried about it, then why don't you come with me? /

/ **Jaehee Kang** : I.. What? /

/ **Zai** : Come with me! We can both cheer Zen up together. /

/ **Jaehee Kang** : Are you certain that is wise? /

/ **Zai** : Well, I don't think anyone would see a problem if there were two people visiting his apartment instead of just one. /

/ **Zai** : It'll look more like a business meeting. /

/ **Jumin Han** : She is right. It would be more beneficial if the both of you went. /

/ **Jumin Han** : Then the two of you can convince him to work for me. /

/ **Zai** : This again... /

/ **Jaehee Kang** : Mr. Han are you sure? /

/ **Jumin Han** : Yes. Consider this a task from me. I will have Driver Kim take you both to his house. /

/ **Zai** : Oh, there's no need. I can drive. /

/ **Jaehee Kang** : Is this really happening? /

/ **Zai** : Yup! I can't wait to see you both again. I'm so excited! /

/ **Jumin Han** : Please remember to ask him about the commercial. /

/ **Zai** : Yeah yeah I'll tell him you're sorry for being so insensitive about his allergies! /

/ **Jumin Han** : That is not how I would say it, but if it helps then I suppose I do not care. /

/ **Jaehee Kang** : I see that there is no changing either of your minds.. /

/ **Zai** : Nope ^^ /

/ **Jumin Han** : No. This advertisement is necessary. /

/ **Jaehee Kang** : Fine then. I will go. /

/ **Zai** : Yay! /

/ **Jaehee Kang** : Zai I will text you the address as soon as I finish my work. /

/ **Zai** : Okay, thank you, Jaehee! /

/ **Jaehee Kang** : It is no problem. /

/ **Jumin Han** : Assistant Kang please remember to bring up the commercial. /

/ **Jaehee Kang** : Yes Mr. Han. /

 _Jumin Han has left the chat room._

/ **Zai** : Aaaah I can't wait! But I have some errands to run right now so I can't stay and talk! See you soon, Jaehee! /

/ **Jaehee Kang** : See you soon. /

 _Jaehee Kang has left the chat room._

 _Zai has left the chat room._

Day 7 - 12:34 PM

Zai's arms were full of groceries by the time she got back from the market. She'd never bought this much food in her life, but if she remembered correctly, Jaehee and Zen were notorious for not eating properly. It was up to her to remind them that a diet of coffee and beer was not a proper way to live.

After sorting through everything and placing the bags of food she was supposed to take with her near the door, she opened her laptop to start looking for recipes; ones that she could work on with both Zen and Jaehee. She also figured she could start on lunch as well. No sense in letting herself fall into the same pit that her two favorite people had found themselves in.

While munching on a spare package of biscuits, she tried to remember how this night was supposed to go. Would she still have to return home after meeting with Zen and Jaehee? Probably. The two of them were nothing if not entirely proper when it came to their relationships with her. They were also quite stubborn in not letting her be as close to them as they wanted her to be.

She worked out her frustrations while cutting carrots, her phone sitting idly on the kitchen counter next to her as she tried not to think about the negative possibilities of visiting Zen's house. If she was going to be turned away again, she might actually lose it. She was tired of these two constantly ignoring her affections to downplaying them to the point where she had to be extremely obvious with how she was attracted, _romantically attracted_ , to the two of them. The furthest she'd ever gotten to Jaehee confessing her feelings for her had been the one time where she called her "partner" when they opened their cafe together. It was simultaneously one of the greatest and most disappointing moments of her life.

Zen had been openly romantic with her ever since day five of his routes and Zai was thankful for that, but if she was being honest with herself, he was dense when it came to committed relationships. Even though he'd already said that they could talk about sharing, the thought of it actually happening made her shiver. Could she truly hope to be with them in that way? Would everything even work out? And there was her plan for dealing with Unknown...

The knife ceased its movements and Zai set it to the side before resting the weight of her body on her elbows and letting her head fall into her palms. Tears began to prick at the corner of her eyes.

How many times had she reset after a good ending? How many times had she treated them badly simply because she couldn't handle how things never changed? She was sick of the repeating days, but she was also sick of herself and all the things she had done that no one but her would remember from today and beyond.

Heaving out a sigh, she picked herself up and resumed fixing lunch. There was no sense worrying about the past. She couldn't change how things happened then, but she had the power to make things work better now.

She just had to remember, _no more resets_.


	16. ? ? Route - Day 7 - Part 2

Day 7 - 03:12 PM

Zai was filled with both excitement and nervous energy as she pulled up to Zen's house. She could already see Jumin's limousine parked in front of her, and Driver Kim's silhouette in the front seat. As she walked to the front door, she tried to ignore the fact that this would not be like their previous date at the restaurant. She would be in Zen's house with both him and Jaehee. Together. In private. With no one else around.

Doing her best of hold in her squeals of delight, she knocked on the door best she could with her arms laden with groceries.

It was Zen that opened the door. Zai was thankful because she wholeheartedly believed that if Jaehee had opened the door, she would've dropped everything just to wrap her arms around the other woman and exclaim how happy she was to be able to pursue a possible relationship with her.

"Hey, Babe! You made it!"

"Yeah!, I uh," Zai lifted the bags full of food so that Zen could see them. "I got stuff for dinner."

"Whoa, you didn't have to bring so much! But my fridge is pretty empty except for-"

"Beer?" That got a laugh out of him.

"Haha, yeah! How did you know?"

He stood aside so that Zai could make her way into the house, and she grinned as he offered to relieve her of some of her burdens.

"You actor types may be talented, but when it comes to looking after yourself?" She set the bags down by the door so she could wrap her arms around him. "You need help looking after your health." Even if she hadn't looked up, she could feel him tense up and watched as a grin slowly spread across his face.

Suddenly she was being lifted and squeezed by wonderfully strong arms. She was quickly set down and when she and Zen's eyes locked, she could see the flush in his normally pale cheeks and the brightness of his smile.

"Aaah...you're so considerate! Thank you." Taking half of her bags with him, he beckoned her to follow him to the kitchen. "Jaehee is waiting in the living room but we should probably put these away first. At the mention of Jaehee, Zai's anxiety came back. She couldn't help but think about what might happen if this night ended in failure.

Shaking her negative thoughts away, Zai steeled her nerves and did her best to reassure herself that wouldn't happen. Plus, even if it did, it had no effect on her final plans. Taking a deep breath, she helped Zen place all the pre-cooked items she'd made earlier on the counter, before placing the rest of the ingredients in the fridge for later.

As Zen pulled her along to where Jaehee was sitting, Zai's excitement began to build. At the sight of the other woman sitting down and idly scrolling through her phone, the dam broke loose.

"Jaehee!' Hearing her name be called at such a volume immediately woke Jaehee out of her focus and brought her eyes to the younger brunette who was eagerly holding her arms out for a hug.

"Zai!" She stood and moved to embrace the shorter girl, but was surprised when her body was suddenly engulfed in Zai's clutch.

"Jaehee I'm so happy for you!"

"Happy for me? Why?"

"You're finally realizing that you deserve good things too!" Zai hadn't wanted to get so emotional, but as she looked up at the woman who she had fallen in love with so many times, she was filled with joy.

"Oh yeah, I forgot that we were supposed to talk about that." Zen didn't look at all bothered about the two women embracing in the middle of his house. If anything, he looked just as excited as Zai felt. "Do you guys wanna eat first, though?"

"Yes."

"Yes please!"

Day 7 - 05:45 PM

Dinner was a pleasant, if not high energy, affair. Zai had brought a variety of dishes and spare ingredients with reference to both Zen and Jaehee's tastes. Needless to say, there were very few leftovers when the three were done. Afterward, they moved back to the living room to watch some of Zen's personal copies of his musicals at Jaehee's request,

Zen has said he wasn't nervous about the girls seeing his performances (even though Jaehee had seen all of them at least twice each), but at witnessing Zai and Jaehee's delighted expressions, his worries soon melted away to the point where he could simply enjoy watching himself act with them. There was silence throughout most of them, with Jaehee using a spare napkin to dab away at the tears forming in the corner of her eyes. When Zen removed his shirt on-screen, he almost jumped out of his seat at Zai's whooping and Jaehee's wolf whistles. The two women started at his expression and paused just to laugh.

This continued for most of the night. Zai even managed to get Zen and Jaehee to help her throw together a quick dessert with the remaining ingredients they hadn't used. All in all, it was a most enjoyable evening shared by the three.

Day 7 - 09:02 PM

 _POV: ZEN Mode_

While Zai and Jaehee were preoccupied with debating Zen's key points during his role in ' _Promiscuous Jalapeño Topping_ ', Zen leaned over to grab his phone so he could check the time. It's past nine. The news was startling, as he realized that it was actually a lot later than he had expected. Both Jaehee and Zai would be leaving soon, and while he'd had a good time with them, he also didn't want it to end. However, that was selfish thinking, and he couldn't let himself take advantage of their affections for him.

"Hey, Zai, Jaehee." The two women looked over at him before they could start another debate on whether his performance in this musical was better than one of his others. "It's getting pretty late," He tried not to let his downcast feelings project through his voice, but at their expressions, it seemed like he wasn't doing a very good job. "Not that I want to kick you out or anything, but you should probably be getting home soon." Had it really been over six hours that he'd spent with them? It felt like such a short amount of time.

No sooner than he had said those words, he could see Zai's face fall with disappointment, and Jaehee seemed to be holding in her emotions once again. Why did this have to be so hard!?

"It's okay, Zen. It's not like we can stay overnight or anything."

"I agree with Zai. Also, I still have work tomorrow. It would be undue of us to overstay our welcome." Zen looked over to them and saw the love shining in their eyes. Even when he was pushing them away, they still did their best to comfort him. Taking a deep breath, he stood and reached over to grab both of their hands so he could pull them up as well.

"Okay then, before you go, there's something I really wanted to show you."

Taking the two of them up onto the roof was something Zen had wanted to do ever since Zai stepped through the door into his home. It was a place that he usually went to when he wanted to do some self-introspection, and his apartment was far enough from the city that he could still see the stars in the sky at night.

With both Jaehee and Zai sitting on either side of him, he felt the happiness building in his chest first before it showed on his face. Then he was crying and both women were suddenly alarmed about the tears streaming down his face. Then he was laughing and their confusion was obvious in their expressions.

"I'm- I'm sorry!" He moved to wipe the tears from his eyes with his sleeve as Jaehee and Zai shot concerned looks at each other. "I'm just...so happy. That I got to spend time with you both tonight." He could feel their arms wrapping around his own as his shoulders trembled under the weight of his own emotions.

"You know..my parents always called me ugly as a child? They were worried that I'd grow up to be too conceited and spoiled like other famous people. My brother was the only one I could depend on until.. he turned on me too." Looking up he could make out each individual light in the sky as he felt the warmth seeping through his body from where Zai and Jaehee were touching him.

"I think...I think you two became more special to me than I originally thought." Upon hearing his statement, Zai spoke up first.

"What do you mean by that, Zen?"

"I mean, you two have supported me from day one...and you Jaehee," At her name being mentioned, Jaehee straightened almost imperceptibly before tightening her grasp on Zen's arm.

"You've been supporting me for even longer, but I think I was way more oblivious back then." He sighed and the two women withdrew their arms so that he could lean back. "Maybe if I hadn't been so narcissistic, I would have realized it sooner." He shot a blinding grin at Jaehee and did his best to stifle his laughter at how fast her cheeks reddened. Zai had no such restrictions and laughed openly.

"Zai I called you yesterday for reassurance about the scandal with Echo Girl, but also about your feelings for me, right?" Untrusting of her own words at the moment, Zai nodded. "Then I was right. Also, I'm glad that Jaehee is here too since this is something best said in person instead of over the phone or by text."

All was quiet for a moment and he could feel the tension in the air. It was heavy but full of energy like a wire pulled to near-breaking point.

"I'm not completely sure about it, but at the same time," He reached for both Zai and Jaehee's hands and felt some of the anxiety fall away as their presence grounded him. "I think...I might actually love you both."

If things were tense before, then now it was as if someone had set an entire fireworks booth on fire. When he looked over at Zai she looked awestruck, but simultaneously near tears. Jaehee was in a similar situation but seemed to be the verge of hyperventilating if her quick breaths were any indication.

"Ah, that wasn't too forward of me, was it? I'm sorry I can take it ba-"

"NO!" Suddenly he was being smothered by the two women as they wrapped their arms around him. He could feel Jaehee's glasses digging into his back, and Zai's face was pressed into his shoulder. If he was being honest with himself, it wasn't as uncomfortable as he thought it would be.

"Zen...you and Zai have..helped me to see that perhaps, not everything is as black and white as it seems." When he turned around to look at Jaehee, he could see the stars reflecting in the lens of her glasses. "You're both right in the regard that I..can do better for myself, and I do not have settle for less when I can work towards my dreams just as you have." Zen was hit with a rush of affection and pride as he took in the determined expression on her face. He felt Zai shift and moved so that she could hold Jaehee's hand.

"You know I never thought that this night would end like this." Zen moved his arms around their waists and both he and Jaehee focused on Zai. "I was so worried for no reason at all. I think I was just trying to convince myself that I was making it all up, that both your feelings for me were imagined." When she looked up, Zen noticed her eyes were swimming with tears.

"I'm so happy, so so happy that you two are in my life." Now she was crying too. "I don't know what I'd do if you weren't..." She removed her hand from its place Zen's back so she could wipe her face.

"Thank you so much...Even if you didn't have feelings for me, I'd be satisfied knowing that you're both still here." Zen felt more than saw Jaehee move, then she was in front of him, a genuine smile on her face.

"If it makes you feel better, Zai. I...think I might love you and Zen as well..."

There was a cry of joy and then all three of them were cuddling. A triple mess of tears and laughter beneath the star-lit sky with their hands intertwined.

Day 7 - 11:36 PM

By the time Zai got home it was quite late, and she was both physically and emotionally exhausted from the events that had previously transpired less than two hours ago. She was so exhausted that she didn't even bother checking on the RFA before pulling on her night clothes and falling into bed with a sigh.

Replaying both Zen and Jaehee's confessions in her head, Zai drifted into unconsciousness with a soft look of bliss on her face.


	17. ? ? Route - Day 8 - Part 1

Day 8 - 09:02 AM

 _Jumin Han has joined the chat room._

/ **Jumin Han** : Assistant Kang, did you and Zai remember to remind Zen of the cat commercial? /

/ **Jaehee Kang** : My apologies Mr. Han. /

/ **Jaehee Kang** : Due to some unforeseen events, we were unable to request his help with the project. /

/ **Jumin Han** : What sort of unforeseen events could have prevented you from simply asking him to participate in promoting the most glorious creatures on earth? /

/ **Jaehee Kang** : The personal kind. /

/ **Jumin Han** : ...Make sure it does not happen again. /

/ **Jaehee Kang** : ... /

 _Jaehee Kang has left the chat room._

 _707 has joined the chat room._

/ **Jumin Han** : For some reason, I feel like she has changed. /

/ **707** : Who? /

/ **Jumin Han** : Assistant Kang. /

/ **707** : lololololol /

/ **707** : Maybe she just got tired of being stepped on all the time lolololol /

/ **Jumin Han** : What sort of nonsense are you talking about now... /

/ **707** : Oh nothing! /

/ **707** : I'm just saying, maybe you should learn to be a little nicer to your employees. /

/ **707** : You can't guarantee that they'll always work for you, after all! /

/ **Jumin Han** : Luciel, as far as I know, I am not paying for you to discuss the treatment of my workers. /

/ **707** : Uh..right. /

/ **707** : I'll just go;;/

 _707 has left the chat room._

 _Jumin Han has left the chat room._

Day 8 - 12:02 PM

Due to being thoroughly exhausted by the previous day's events, Zai forgot to set her alarm. As a result, it was a little past noon when she finally woke, and even so, she didn't even want to think about getting out of bed.

By the time Zai was finally coherent enough to get out of bed, it was afternoon. She was hungry from skipping breakfast even though she'd had a large dinner last night. Slowly making her way to the kitchen with at least two thick blankets draped across her shoulders she unlocked her phone and tried to blink away the blurriness in her sight.

While idly cooking herself a vegetable and egg stir-fry brunch with one hand, Zai used her other to scroll through the messages and calls she hadn't been able to answer. There were a few missed calls from Zen and Jaehee, as well as one from Jumin. There were also a lot of private texts from Jaehee and Zen that Zai took her time responding to. Once more, Zai found herself lamenting the RFA App's lack of private group chats and calls.

Looking at the calendar app on her phone, she could feel nausea beginning to stir in the back of her throat. Only two days left. The knowledge of her plans soon coming to fruition filled her with both excitement and fear. Her hunger vanished as soon as the thought hit her, yet she ate anyways. Jaehee and Zen would've wanted her to.

After finishing, she settled down at her laptop to work on preparations for the party. It was going to be held whether she succeeded or failed, regardless.

Day 8 - 03:14 PM

 _POV: Jumin Mode_

It had been two days since Echo Girl had come to Jumin's suite to threaten his and Zen's reputation, but there was nothing further from his mind as he sat at the edge of his bed, observing the other man whose hair was the only thing peeking out from beneath the plush blankets that covered him from sight. Jumin was exercising an incredible amount of self-control to keep himself from running his fingers through those soft cerulean strands. V had been sleeping for most of the time he'd spent at Jumin's house.

' _He must have been working quite hard to get this exhausted in only a few hours,_ ' Thought Jumin. ' _But on what?_ '

V's glasses were on the nightstand beside the bed, and when he tossed and turned, Jumin could catch glances of bags beneath the other man's eyes. Had he not been sleeping well? What had tired him out so much that he needed to rest for almost twelve hours a day?

Jumin was startled out of his thoughts by movement and shifted his gaze upwards to connect with the teal eyes that were now looking at him with confusion.

"...Jumin? What time is it?" Although his voice was somewhat rough from lack of use, Jumin found it no less attractive and _no_ , he was _not_ having these thoughts again with a barely clothed V lying in bed next to him.

"Ah, it is nearly half-past three, you were sleeping for most of the afternoon. Yet you seemed so tired, I thought it best to let you rest." Jumin tried to calm himself down and V slowly rose to sit up, the soft duvets falling away to reveal an expanse of smooth pale skin. Heart in his throat, Jumin picked up V's glasses and handed them over to his childhood friend while turning his head away. Both to hide the rapidly growing blush on his face and to provide the other man with some sort of modesty.

"Oh, my apologies. I didn't mean to sleep so long. These past few weeks have been more taxing than usual." V accepted the glasses and Jumin tried his best not to jolt as he felt soft and slender fingers brush against his palm.

"If you do not mind me asking, why is it that you have been so worn down recently?" He almost put a hand on his friend's shoulder but quickly recoiled. "Is taking photographs truly that much work? Would you like me to provide you with an escort?"

If Jumin had been expecting any response from V, it certainly wasn't the sudden shout of "NO!" that echoed in the room almost immediately after he had finished speaking. V's eyes were blown so wide that Jumin could see blue peeking out from behind dark tinted lenses, and the other man's hands had the sheets in a death grip so strong that his already pale skin whitened noticeably.

"V..." The atmosphere was tense, and the only thing Jumin could hear was the sound of quick breaths and the slight rustling of blankets as V slowly released his hold on the bed covers.

"Jumin...forgive me."

"For what?"

"For keeping things from you. Please know that I'm doing this to help you- help the RFA. You're all like family to me." Sensing the tension in his voice, Jumin through caution to the wind and gripped V's shoulders lightly.

"What are you talking about? What did you do to make you act this way? It isn't like you, Jihyun." At the usage of his real name, V looked up to lock his eyes with Jumin's slate-gray ones.

"Jumin...Jumin, I'm going blind. Soon I won't be able to take pictures any longer. I wanted to go on a solo trip...to get photos to help fund the RFA's party one last time." V was shaking now, and it was all Jumin could do to keep the shorter man stable, his voice beginning to break apart. "I'm selfish, Jumin. So incredibly selfish. I let Zai convince me to stay because I knew...I knew this would be my last chance to see you clearly with my own eyes."

"Jihyun..no, no. Everything will be fine. I can pay for your surgery. You don't have to lose your sight, don't think this way!" Jumin was doing his best to prevent himself from falling into hysterics, but V was affecting him in ways he hadn't thought about for years.

"You don't understand... I deserve this. I shouldn't be allowed to exist like this without suffering more for what I've done. It isn't fair." Pulling off his glasses, V pressed the heels of his palms against his eyes in an attempt to stifle the quickly forming tears. Now he was alarmed.

"Jihyun, what is going on?" Removing his own hands from V's shoulders, Jumin gently pulled the other man's wrists away from his face so he could thread their fingers together. "Please...I want to understand you, I want to help you with whatever is bothering you. Stop shutting me out like this..." It had been a long time since Jumin had left himself this open to another person, but at the same time, he couldn't think of anyone he'd rather bare himself to than his best friend.

After he had gotten his breathing under control, V tightened his grip on Jumin's hands.

"You might not like what I tell you."

"That's fine."

"You might hate me for it."

"I won't."

"You might want to leave."

"Never."

The two held each other's gaze for a few moments before V dropped his head to let out a mirthless laugh.

"You were always very stubborn, Jumin."

Glad that they were finally making some progress, Jumin squeezed his hand tighter before moving to sit completely on the bed next to V, their thighs pressed together.

"Only because you hardly ever give in so easily, Jihyun."


	18. ? ? Route - Day 8 - Part 2

Day 8 - 05:56 PM

 _POV: 707 Mode_

Rocketing up from his seat in front of his computer screens, Seven all but threw open the door the moment he spotted Yoosung approaching the front of his house.

"Hello, Cutie! Ready for our sleepover?" He could hardly contain his smile at the sight of his boyfriend, (His boyfriend!) standing in front of him. Yoosung had initially been startled when the door opened, but he quickly relaxed when the familiar mop of red hair appeared in the entryway.

"Luciel! Isn't that tomorrow though?" Seven wasted no time in whisking the smaller boy off his feet and twirling them into his house with a grace that neither his appearance nor attitude belied.

"Yep! Just wanted to make sure you're prepared, though!"

"Of course I am! Except, I didn't bring the snacks with me. If I left them here they'd be gone by the time I came back tomorrow." After dropping the two of them onto his sofa, Seven let his head fall against Yoosung's shoulder as he tried to give his most convincing whine.

"Awww...my cutie Yoosung doesn't trust me not to eat all the goodies without him." Pressing a series of small kisses against the other boy's neck as he tried to stifle his giggles, Seven tightened his grip against his waist to prevent the young blond from moving. "If you're not going to share, then maybe I should just eat you up instead?"

The room was punctuated with laughter as Seven dug his fingers into Yoosung's sides, which was followed by shouting as he was subsequently chased around the house.

"Why are you trying to hit me!? This isn't cute at all!"

"You know I'm really sensitive there! Maybe next time you won't press on my ribs so hard!" Eventually, they both fell back onto Seven's bed, exhausted.

"I'm never chasing you again...How did you get so fast?"

"Years of running away from people trying to kill me."

"Ha ha very funny, but Jumin trying to get Elizabeth back from you doesn't count."

"I wasn't joking."

"Oh."

"Psyche!" Yoosung was suddenly trapped as Seven pressed a kiss to his cheek before wrapping both his arms and legs around his boyfriend, locking him in place.

"Luciel! I have to go home tonight! You can show me your baby koala impression tomorrow."

"Nooo I don't want you to go!"

"Release me or you're not getting any of my marshmallows!" There was a cry of despair.

"ANYTHING BUT THAT!"

Day 8 - 10:22 PM

 _POV: Jumin Mode_

Jumin had canceled all his appointments for the rest of the day in favor of listening to V finally explain everything he'd been keeping to himself for the past two years. Throughout his explanation, Jumin kept silent so he wouldn't startle the other man into locking up like he had before. Although his chest felt uncomfortably tight several different times during V's retelling, he held fast until the end. It was somewhat late by the time everything was said, and V hadn't met Jumin's stare at all since he started hours earlier. At one point they had ordered dinner, and Jumin fought to keep his eyes on his food instead of letting them drift towards the teal haired man sitting next to him. Once they were finished, the bedroom was filled with a pregnant silence.

"Jumin..." Turning to finally look at his friend, his best friend, Jumin could see the trembling of V's shoulders as he wrapped his arms around himself. "Are you disappointed in me? Because I am."

"Jihyun. Please." He held his hand up to stave off the imminent flood of self-depreciating comments that he knew would spill out if he let them. "First off, do not such remarks about yourself again."

He fully turned towards V and slowly pulled his legs up so they could both sit on top of the bed together. Lifting one hand off the sheets, he dropped his gaze as he let his palm rest against V's cheek. He felt him lean into the touch like a cat and Jumin's heart started beating twice as fast.

"You have made mistakes, yes." Letting his thumb brush against soft skin, Jumin forced his breathing to steady. "That doesn't mean you cannot atone for them. A truly remorseful man would work to fix his wrongs, instead of running from them." When he lifted his head, he saw an energy in V's eyes that hadn't been there since they were still young boys dreaming about the future. "After all, who else would keep me from being too serious?"

At that, V let out a series of short laughs that had Jumin feeling like his mind was spinning out of control. It had felt like ages since he heard that playful sound from V.

"I do believe you're correct in that regard, Jumin." It had been even longer since he last heard that joking tone from his childhood friend. He let his hand fall away from V's cheek and settled with just being close enough to the other man to feel his presence.

"So you'll get the surgery then? It'll be harder for you to help people if you can't see, and there's no sense in punishing yourself additionally." He watched those crystalline eyes appraise him for a moment before V nodded in acquiescence.

"Even if I said no, I have a feeling that you wouldn't leave the subject alone for a minute." There was that teasing lilt again.

"Besides," V lifted his legs up so he could rest his head on his knees. "I'm not the only one with a secret to divulge tonight, right Jumin?"

Swallowing tightly, he could feel the rigid coil of fear in his chest as he registered just what V was implying. Though, if he were being honest with himself, it was partially his fault for being obvious.

"What is it that you would like me to say, Jihyun?" He tried to shove down the nervousness that was beginning to build in his throat as V reclined against the bed cushions.

"I don't want you to say anything you're not comfortable with saying." V closed his eyes and sank into the pillows while Jumin watched stiffly.

"...Jihyun..."

"...Yes?"

"You know you...mean a lot to me, personally."

"You mean a lot to me too, Jumin." Choking on air, he swiftly pressed his hand against his mouth to stifle his sudden coughing fit while V chuckled at his reaction. "No one blames you for being tongue tied. Confessions are hard, I would know." Now V was definitely playing with him.

Growling, Jumin moved to trap the shorter man beneath him, using his hands to pin V's arms to his sides.

"You've teased me for the last time, Jihyun." Their foreheads were pressed together and Jumin could feel himself getting dizzy just breathing in the same air as V.

"...What are you going to do about it, Jumin?"

"I'm going to kiss you now."

Light laughter pierced the heavy atmosphere.

"It's about time."

Day 8 - 11:50 PM

Zai had answered over fifty email threads today alone. She was so thoroughly worn out that she'd fallen asleep on her computer almost immediately after finishing the latest thank-you note written to another successfully invited guest. Her phone was opened to the RFA messenger, yet she didn't have a chance to even check on the chat because she'd become so engrossed in her work that she had forgotten all about it. However, even though she was asleep, her phone was still online.

The screen was covered wall to wall with neon green code for a few moments.

/ **Unknown** : _...Hello?_ /

/ **Unknown** : _I can see you now.._. /

/ **Unknown** : _Oh, are you asleep? How cute._ /

/ **Unknown** : _You must feel pretty safe in that little apartment..._ /

/ **Unknown** : _But you'll be safer with me...with us._ /

/ **Unknown** : _..._ /

/ **Unknown** : I'll be coming to get you soon. /

/ **Unknown** : _I'm so excited that we can finally meet._ /

/ **Unknown** : _You'll love being here in paradise, I just know it._ /


	19. ? ? Route - Day 9 - Part 1

Day 9 - 12:15 PM

Zai woke up with a shout at the sound of her phone ringing incessantly. There was a short scramble to keep her chair from falling over, and then a squawk of pain as her back protested being suddenly jostled from its position of being arched over the table all night.

"Ow ow ow ow ow...bad idea." Gingerly clutching her shoulder with one hand, Zai tried to rub the tiredness from her eyes with the other, only to feel indents from the keys on her cheek as she brushed her hair away.

"Ok, I am never doing that again." Slowly standing up, she reached for her phone and unlocked it as she made her way to the kitchen. Might as well start on lunch since she was awake.

The first thing she noticed upon opening her phone, was that it was officially Day Nine. Which meant she only had the rest of today to prepare for the events that would be happening tomorrow. The second thing she noticed was that there were too many missed calls and texts from both Jaehee and Zen for her to count. She was just about to try and call Zen and Jaehee one after the other before she realized that, no, that was horribly inefficient. Instead, she sent them both a text explaining that she had been working late last night, and therefore had overslept due to exhaustion.

She knew that if she said nothing else afterward, she'd get a multitude of texts asking her if she had eaten breakfast, or if she'd slept well. So she followed up with a message asking the two of them if they could meet with her today. Zai started cooking and tried to ignore the stiff feeling in her chest that only increased as she thought about how it might very well be the last time she got to be with them in person.

Day 9 - 12:46 PM

 _Zai has joined the chat room._

/ **Zai** : Hi everyone! /

/ **ZEN** : Hey Babe! /

/ **Jaehee Kang** : Zai! You have eaten today, right? /

/ **Zai** : Yeah, I just finished eating. /

/ **Jaehee Kang** : That is good ^^ A healthy meal is always a must for the start of your day. /

/ **Zai** : Says the woman whose most important meal of the day is Coffee. /

/ **ZEN** : lololol she's got you there, Jaehee. /

/ **Zai** : I'm not forgetting your bad habit of having mostly liquid lunches too, Zen. /

/ **ZEN** : Aahh, not even my gorgeousness protects me from my love's scathing remarks! /

/ **Jaehee Kang** : Oh hush. You should accept some criticism once in a while. /

Zai smiled fondly at her phone's screen as she watched the chat fill with Jaehee and Zen's playful bantering.

/ **Zai** : Are you two free to meet up sometime today? /

/ **Jaehee Kang** : I will have to check my schedule. /

/ **Jaehee Kang** : But there is a good chance I can make some time after I get off of work. /

/ **ZEN** : I don't have anything to do. /

/ **ZEN** : Until the scandal with Echo Girl is cleared up I probably won't be getting any new jobs;; /

/ **Zai** : Ok! Jaehee, call me when you're free? /

/ **Jaehee Kang** : Certainly. /

/ **Jaehee Kang** : Also, Zen... /

/ **ZEN** : Yeah? /

/ **Jaehee Kang** : For once..it might be beneficial to take up an offer from Mr. Han. /

/ **ZEN** : What?! No way I'll ever work for that jerk. /

/ **ZEN** : I'd rather suffer on my own than try to get popular with his help. /

/ **Zai** : Zen... /

/ **Zai** : Maybe it's not all that bad? /

/ **Zai** : Consider it as you helping him instead of the other way around. /

/ **ZEN** : Hmm... /

/ **ZEN** : I don't know, I still don't like it. /

/ **Jaehee Kang** : Won't you have to take jobs for people you don't like anyways? /

/ **Jaehee Kang** : Think of it as practice for more difficult situations. /

/ **ZEN** : Well when you put it like that. /

/ **ZEN** : I'm still not sure, but I won't rule it out until I'm completely certain. /

/ **Zai** : That's fine! As long as you give it a chance. /

/ **Jaehee Kang** : Yes! You can't dismiss potential offers before giving them some thought. /

/ **ZEN** : Haha, you two really care that much about my career, huh? /

/ **Zai** : Of course! Your happiness is related to your job, so we want you to be successful! /

/ **Jaehee Kang** : Indeed. If you stopped acting, I doubt that you'd be as content. /

/ **ZEN** : You guys...thanks so much. /

/ **ZEN** : Sometimes I forget that there are people who aren't just my fans rooting for me. /

/ **ZEN** : But you two know that acting means a lot more to me than just as a job. /

/ **Zai** : We're here for you, Zenny! /

/ **Jaehee Kang** : Seconded ^^ /

The conversation continued for a little while before Jaehee had to get back to work, and Zen had decided to at least call Jumin to ask him about the potential job offer. Zai bid them farewell before leaning back in her seat and contemplating just what she had to do today to ensure that tomorrow would be a success. Pressing her hands against her eyes until she saw lights, she wondered just how she was going to pull this off.

Thinking back to all the times that Unknown had broken into the apartment, she sighed and got up to retrieve her jacket and car keys from the bedroom. She was going to need some sturdy rope.

Day 9 - 02:33 PM

 _POV: Jaehee Mode_

Jaehee huffed as she submitted her final document for the moment. She'd been working almost constantly for the past two days after returning to work from her visit to Zen's house. Just the thought of that night immediately sent her head into a spin. How had she gotten so lucky in life? Then another text from Jum- Mr. Han lit up her phone, telling her that there was another project he needed her help on.

Taking a deep breath, she counted to ten before releasing it as to not let her emotions take control as she sent a reply to her boss explaining that she simply had _too much work_ to focus on at the moment to take on yet _another_ task. She knew he was spending time with V up in his penthouse suite and had to play host, but there was no reason he had to foist off all his duties on her. She contributed so much to this company that she might as well have been running it herself. But as she had been told several times before, her role was as an assistant, and never anything greater.

Staring at the screen which mocked her pain as it highlighted all the emails and paperwork she'd yet to finish, Jaehee let out a ragged sigh of exhaustion. She bent down in her chair to reach for her briefcase before picking it up and setting it in her lap. Inside, buried under a multitude of business papers and coffee receipts, was a folder full of things that she hadn't dared touch before today.

Inside the older was a letter of resignation. She'd filled it to completion months ago but had never mustered up the courage to submit it. What did she even have outside of her job? Her dream had been to open a cafe, but she'd told herself that it would never happen. However, that was before her current circumstances.

Thinking about Zai and Zen, their blinding smiles and supportive personalities, Jaehee was filled with both love and energy. Those two believed in her enough to take a leap of faith and pour their feelings out for her, someone who had solely worked for others her entire life. They loved and supported her regardless of her status as a mere assistant, and encouraged her to do things for herself. Truly, she was a blessed individual to have them in her life.

Heart steeled, Jaehee stood up from her chair and clutched the form like a lifeline as she made her way to the Human Resources department to make her decision official. If everything went smoothly, she'd finally be the boss of herself before the end of the day.

It hadn't even been thirty minutes since the paperwork was submitted before Jaehee's phone was blowing up with messages from Jumin. He'd never be Mr. Han to her again, and the thought made her giddy with joy. As soon as she'd gotten back to her (soon to be vacant) office to finish up the last piles of work that she was supposed to complete before being released, she signed on to RFA app.

 _Jaehee Kang has joined the chat room._

/ **Zai** : OMG /

/ **Zai** : Jaehee what did you do?! /

/ **Zai** : Jumin has been losing it completely. /

/ **Jumin Han** : I have not been 'losing it completely'. /

/ J **umin Han** : I am understandably distressed at the news which was just delivered to me. /

/ **Zai** : Which you still won't tell me about... /

/ **Jaehee** **Kang** : I resigned from my job. /

/ **Zai** : OMG! THAT'S SO...

/ **Zai** : ashfhksgkfasf! /

/ **Zai** : JAEHEE I'M SO PROUD OF YOU! /

/ **Zai** : Have you told Zen yet!? /

/ **Jaehee** **Kang** : No, I just returned to my office to finish my work;; /

/ **Jaehee** **Kang** : I was going to tell you both later, but I figured I might as well while I'm here. /

/ **Zai** : Congratulations! This is so great! /

/ **Zai** : I'm going to go call Zenny now ^^ /

/ **Zai** : We'll pick someplace really nice to celebrate with you tonight, Jaehee! /

/ **Jaehee** **Kang** : Alright ^^ /

 _Zai has left the chat room._

/ **Jumin Han** : Unbelievable. /

/ **Jumin Han** : Why did she congratulate you? /

/ **Jumin Han** : This is an outrage. /

/ **Jaehee** **Kang** : What is so outrageous about it? /

/ **Jumin Han** : Why are you leaving? /

/ J **umin Han** : What could you possibly gain from resigning from your position? /

/ **Jaehee** **Kang** : My independence and peace of mind. /

/ J **umin Han** : I don't see why you can't have those while working with C&R International. /

/ **Jaehee** **Kang** : That is precisely why I am leaving the company. /

/ **Jaehee** **Kang** : You have never truly understood me as a person, Jumin. /

/ **Jaehee** **Kang** : In fact, I hope that once I am out of your employ, we can be better friends through the RFA. /

/ **Jumin Han** : ... It seems there is much I have left to learn about you, Jaehee. /

/ **Jaehee** **Kang** : ^^ /

/ **Jumin Han** : I must tell V the news. /

/ **Jumin Han** : I entrust that you will finish your remaining work with the same outstanding quality you've kept up for your job so far? /

Jaehee was momentarily stunned, her fingers hovering over the phone's keyboard as she acknowledged the fact that Jumin had actually paid her an honest compliment. Even if it was related to her proficiency in filling out forms and replying to emails.

/ **Jaehee** **Kang** : Of course, I'd expect nothing less of myself, even if I am departing from your workforce. /

/ **Jumin Han** : Then I shall depart. /

/ **Jumin Han** : My apologies, Jaehee. /

/ **Jumin Han** : I...did not mean to let things get so far out of hand. /

/ **Jumin Han** : C&R International will do its best to recover from the loss of its most efficient employee. /

 _Jumin Han has left the chat room._

/ **Jaehee** **Kang** : At least he is being honest with himself about the situation. /

 _Jaehee Kang has left the chat._


	20. ? ? Route - Day 9 - Part 2

Day 9 - 06:51 PM

It had already been late in the afternoon by the time Zai got home from her outing. Minus the time she spent listening to Jumin rant about the injustices of life and calling Zen to scream with him over Jaehee's newfound independence, she hadn't actually spent a lot of time shopping. Regardless of how much of her trip was spent gossiping, she still thought she had everything she needed to survive tomorrow without any physical harm to herself or anyone else. As for emotional wounds...

Carelessly dropping her bag of purchased goods to the floor, she let herself collapse on the short couch in the apartment. She'd been sleeping less recently, with all the excitement from being with Zen and Jaehee, as well as the upcoming party and Unknown's threats. Silently wondering if Seven could see the bags beneath her eyes from his cameras, Zai fished out the concealer she'd bought before dragging herself to the bathroom to make some sort of attempt at putting on makeup. If she was going to go on one last date with both of her most favorite people in the world, then she at least wanted to look nice for it.

Day 9 - 08:09 PM

POV: Jaehee Mode

It was slightly past eight by the time Jaehee found the restaurant that Zen had sent the address for. Unlike the establishment that was chosen for their previous date, it was much smaller and had a very homey atmosphere. As soon as she stepped inside, she could see Zai waving at her enthusiastically from a booth, with Zen sitting across from her. Upon noticing Zai's movements, he turned around, and Jaehee could feel the breath leave her lungs at the absolutely blinding smile he shot her way.

Making her way to the table, she saw Zai scoot over so she could sit next to her. Climbing into the booth, she did her best to keep in the wild storm of emotions currently rolling around in her chest as she slowly processed the day's events.

"Jaehee! You made it!" She smiled at Zai's enthusiasm. The other woman seemed even more excited about the news than she did.

"Of course. After all, it isn't like I have any work to do now." All three of the booth occupants shared a conspiratorial look, before bursting into giggles. Zen was desperately trying to hold in his chuckles, but Jaehee could see the moisture beginning to collect in the corners of his ruby red eyes.

"Ahaha..I'm just imagining the look on Mr. Trust Fund Kid's face when he got the news..." Zen wiped the tears away with the back of his hand, before leaning forward and grasping one of Jaehee's hands between both of his. "Just think, Jaehee! This is a brand new start for you! I know you're going to do great at whatever it is you want to pursue." His movements startled her, but remembering that this man had supported her, loved her even, made the tension melt away as she looked back at him.

"Thank you..." She felt Zai shift and looked over to see her reach across the seat to grasp her hand. Jaehee could feel the warmth from both of them filling her chest and she nearly started crying then and there. She loved these two so much.

"So what are you going to do now, Jaehee?"

"Hmm?" Zai lifted her elbow onto the table and let her head fall into her palm. The sheer adoration in her gaze made Jaehee feel like her heart was going to burst out of her chest.

"You're one of, if not the most capable person I've ever known. I know you wouldn't have just quit on a whim without having a plan first." Thinking back, there was another set of files in the folder that she hadn't needed at the moment, but now was as good a time as any to talk about them.

"Well, I did have the paperwork to lease a building that closed a few months ago. I contacted the owner on a whim, just in case the opportunity ever came to me." Zen and Zai both looked like they'd won the lottery.

"Jaehee this is great!"

"Yeah! You can finally open that cafe like you've always wanted!"

"What?" Jaehee was taken aback by their sudden enthusiasm. They'd remembered her dream and wanted her to pursue it?

"Are you sure I should?" She withdrew her hands from their grasps and noted how their expressions fell after she started curling into herself. "All this time, I've spent it working for other people. I don't know how to do things for myself. What if it all ends in failure?"

"Don't be foolish!" Both she and Zen whipped their heads around to see Zai with her hands clenched into fists. "You won't know what'll happen unless you try. If you convince yourself that your efforts won't ever amount to anything, then that's how you'll be forever. Isn't that what happened with Jumin?" Her expression softened, and she let her hands fall into her lap, clutching at the soft fabric of the slightly large sweater she was wearing.

"Zen and I are here to support you, Jaehee. So please don't look down on yourself. We want you to succeed." Jaehee loved this woman. Loved her with every inch of her being and more. She promptly did her best to express this feeling by wrapping her arms around the shorter woman and letting her head rest against her shoulder. She could feel Zai stiffen momentarily, before returning the hug and melting into Jaehee's embrace contentedly.

"Hey! Don't leave me out of this!" Both women were startled by Zen suddenly sliding his entire torso over the table so he could get his arms around the two of them at once. The atmosphere was then filled with joy as the three laughed together.

At least, until the waiter finally came around to take their orders.

Day 9 - 11:26 PM

Zai had stayed out with Zen and Jaehee for as long as she could before the trio agreed to call it a night and return to their respective places of residence. Jaehee, in particular, had to sort through all the things she'd brought home from the office, and Zen needed to correspond with Jumin over the details of the cat commercial. This left Zai alone with her thoughts in an apartment belonging to a dead woman.

As soon as she stepped into the house, Zai made a beeline for her bedroom. She hadn't even closed the door completely before the tears started rolling down her face. They spilled over her clothes as she slid down the door to the floor, her shoulders heaving with the weight of her sobs. Jaehee and Zen... They truly didn't know what she was doing for them, and if Zai had her way, they never would. In fact, if everything went according to plan tomorrow, they would never see her again. The top of her sweater became soaked as Zai continued to cry.

"I l-love them so much... But in order to..to save them... I have to b-break their hearts!" Another desperate sob tore its way out of her throat as she let the emotions flood through her. How many times had she wished for something like this to happen? For both Zen and Jaehee to reciprocate her feelings, as well as the feelings of each other? Now she was going to take that all from them yet again. She could only hope that their bond would keep them both strong in the aftermath.

"No more resets, no more resets..." The words were a constant mantra as Zai got ready for bed. She'd washed her face, but the tears continued to flow even after doing her best to stop.

Opening her phone, she quickly logged into the RFA App.

Zai has joined the chat room.

/ **ZEN** : Zai! What are you still doing up? /

/ **Zai** : I couldn't sleep! /

/ **Zai** : Besides, I could ask you the same thing! /

/ **ZEN** : Ha, you got me! ^^ /

/ **ZEN** : I just finished talking to Jumin about the commercial. /

/ **ZEN** : I...agreed to work in his production as long as he doesn't have me working with actual cats. /

/ **Zai** : Whoa, really!? /

/ **Zai** : Zen, I'm so proud of you! /

/ **ZEN** : Thanks, Babe! /

/ **ZEN** : I haven't told Jaehee yet. /

/ **ZEN** : I was gonna message her but then you got on. /

/ **Zai** : Oh! Don't let me hold you up! Call her now! /

/ **ZEN** : Alright alright! /

/ **ZEN** : Gee, don't seem too eager! Everyone might think you're trying to get rid of me! /

She'd almost forgotten about the situation at hand when Zen's text struck a chord in her. Getting rid of him. Wasn't that what she was doing, ultimately? Ridding herself of the RFA in order to keep them safe? For whose benefit was she really doing this anyways?

Lost in her own head, she didn't notice Zen's messages until a few minutes later.

/ **ZEN** : Zai? /

/ **ZEN** : Hellooooo? /

/ **ZEN** : It was just a joke! Please don't be mad;; /

/ **ZEN** : Ah, maybe she fell asleep? /

/ **ZEN** : That's probably for the better.

/ **ZEN** : Get some rest, Princess! Love you! /

ZEN has left the chat room.

Consumed by her thoughts, Zai mindlessly logged out of the app and closed her phone. Lying back in bed, she stared at her ceiling as she tried to process everything that had happened up until this point.

Was leaving really the answer? She'd already decided on it almost ten days ago when she reset for her final time. There was no going back from that decision. Even if she didn't have a real plan to fix everything, she was tired of living these eleven days over and over again. She loved Zen and Jaehee, and every reset took a toll on her heart as she was forced to watch them forget her and go right to being strangers once more. If she never saw them again after tomorrow, at least she'd have the memories of her time with them. Clutching desperately at her pillow, Zai tried not to think about what might happen if she failed.

There was also Unknown to think about, but her plan for dealing with him was only marginally related to her plan for the next day. She'd do what she could for him. Thinking back to all the times she'd met the strange individual, she realized that she didn't know much about him at all besides his affiliation with the bizarre organization that was Mint Eye, and its apparent obsession with the current RFA members.

Turning over onto her side, Zai squeezed her eyes shut and tried to think about literally anything else. Tomorrow would be the deciding factor in the future of Rika's Fundraising Association, for better, or for worse.


	21. ? ? Route - Day 10 - Part 1

Day 10 - 01:15 AM

Zai was abruptly woken from her restless sleep by a buzzing sound and her subsequent fall from the bed after she had tried to reach her phone. Sluggishly pressing the 'answer' button and lifting the device to her ear, she did her best to cover up a yawn with her hand as she responded to the call.

"...Hello..?"

"ZAI!"

"AH!" It took a substantial amount of self-control to keep herself from reflexively flinging the phone across the room, but she had still angled it as far away from her head as possible, her arm outstretched completely. After a few tense moments, she brought it back up to her ear.

"Zen? What is it? It's like...one in the morning.."

"Zai are you okay!?"

"Yeah of course, why wouldn't I be?"

"I...I had a dream about you." Of course. She had forgotten that Zen had some form of psychic dreaming...thing.. that alerted him to important events. However that worked. She still had to play it off, though, as he couldn't know that she already knew about that ability of his.

"Dreaming of me? I'm flattered, but still, isn't it a bit late to flirt with me?"

"N-no I mean- Agh! Zai, you don't understand!"

"Then explain it to me, Zenny. I'm all ears." She could hear his labored breathing in the background, and part of her felt terrible about making him worry so much. But she couldn't just tell him that she hadn't gotten kidnapped in the middle of the night without any sort of preface.

"Zai I...I'm sorry. I woke you up so late for nothing."

"It's okay. You were obviously really upset about something. Did you want to talk about it?"

"Ah..no...no it's better I don't bother you any more than I already have. Please go back to sleep."

"Okay, Zenny. Maybe try dreaming of Jaehee instead of me?"

"Ahah.. Perhaps I'll dream of all three of us. Does that sound nice?"

"It sounds great, darling." She could hear his choked cry of surprise at the term of endearment, and even though she was exhausted, Zai still managed to giggle a little at his response.

"Y-you're so cute, Zai... Goodnight. Sweet dreams."

"Sweet dreams to you as well, Zenny." The line disconnected with a click, and then Zai was climbing back into bed, sleepier and more content than before. Her phone lie absently on the floor where she'd left it, too tired to think about putting it in its proper place.

As the soft sound of her breathing echoed through the room, the screen lit up with code.

/ **Unknown** : _It's almost time._ /

/ **Unknown** : _I'll be seeing you very soon, Zai._ /


	22. ? ? Route - Day 10 - Part 2

AN: Mild Warnings for Suicide Ideation and like, almost everything to do with Zen's route in-game if you haven't gotten to Day 10, as well as some other spoilers.

* * *

Day 10 - 09:00 AM

Having decided to forgo setting her alarm after Zen gave her an abrupt wake-up, Zai didn't wake up until late in the morning. All traces of sleep were immediately banished from her eyes as she realized that today was the day. The deciding factor in the survival of the RFA.

She had started thinking about what she was going to have to do to prepare for the events that would soon be transpiring when her phone began lighting up with notifications. Hastily pulling on a top and a jacket, she unlocked her phone and tried to sign into the RFA app while simultaneously lacing up her boots with another hand.

 _Zai has joined the chat room._

/ **ZEN** : ZAI! /

/ **Jaehee Kang** : Zai! /

/ **707** : Zai! OMG I'm so sorry! /

/ **Zai** : Whoa, guys. What's going on? /

/ **707** : Zai...Last night.../

/ **707** : A hacker got into the apartment's security system! /

/ **707** : I'm trying to lock them out again, but so far... /

/ **Zai** : So I'm locked in or something? What's happening, Seven? /

/ **ZEN** : Zai! There's a bomb! /

/ **Zai** : WHAT?! /

Of course, she knew about the bomb, but panicking would get her nowhere, and she knew Unknown wouldn't blow up the apartment with her still in it. He still needed her for some reason.

/ **707** : I'm Sorry;;;;; Rika wanted it installed for some reason... /

/ **707** : I never thought it could be exploited like this... /

/ **ZEN** : Well it's a stupid idea anyways! Why would Rika want a bomb planted under the apartment?! /

/ **Jaehee Kang** : Zen... /

/ **Zai** : Zen please calm down. I'm not in any danger right now, I'm sure. /

/ **707** : The bomb is set to detonate if anyone leaves the apartment or if an RFA member tries to enter it. /

/ **Zai** : See? As long as I don't leave, I'm safe. /

/ **ZEN** : I still don't like it! If that hacker is controlling the apartment's security system, they could blow it up at any time! /

/ **Zai** : I know, but freaking out about it won't solve anything. /

/ **Zai** : Thank you for caring so much about me... /

/ **Jaehee Kang** : Zai, of course we care about you! /

/ **Jaehee Kang** : This must be incredibly frightening, but there's nothing we can do except wait for Luciel to regain control of the system. /

/ **707** : Yeah! Leave it to me! /

/ **707** : Also, you'll be happy to know I have Yoosung on duty as well! /

/ **Zai** : Yoosung is there with you? /

/ **ZEN** : Oh yeah, I haven't seen him in the chat for a while. What are you two doing? /

 _Yoosung_ _has joined the chat room_.

/ **Yoosung** : I thought it was going to be a sleepover, but he's had me looking up stuff on Echo Girl ever since I woke up. /

/ **ZEN** : Echo Girl? /

/ **ZEN** : What are you researching her for? /

/ **Yoosung** : We're trying to prove your innocence! /

/ **707** : Yeah! Defender of Justice Seven-Zero-Seven and his sidekick, the Blond Wonder! /

/ **707** : Here to save the day! /

/ **Yoosung** : At least, we will be if I can find anything. I'm so tired... /

/ **Yoosung** : Luciel has been working me to the bone;;;;; /

/ **707** : Stop complaining! I fed you, didn't I? /

/ **Yoosung** : Honey Buddha Chips aren't classified as a meal! /

Giggling to herself, Zai watched Seven and Yoosung's gentle bickering. She thought back to all the parties that happened after she was saved by Zen. Seven would go missing, and V was just...gone.

Before, Seven had always run away after Zen rescued her from the apartment. She'd been extremely worried about him, as he'd never even shown up to the party. At least now, he'd have Yoosung to keep him grounded in the aftermath. As for V...

Zai bid the chat a hasty farewell, then she was dialing Jumin's number faster than she once believed was humanly possible.

"Jumin Han, C&R Inter-" She didn't even give him enough time to finish his introduction before she was all but shouting into the receiver.

"Jumin!" The stunned silence lasted a mere second before, _"...Zai?"_ Echoed out of the phone's speaker.

"Jumin this is important! Where is V?"

"Ah, he's in the bedroom. ...May I inquire as to why you are calling me to ask this?"

"You need to look after him, okay?" Zai hoped he could hear the urgency in her voice and not question her, but unfortunately, she had no such luck.

"I...Why?"

"Jumin, please. Someone needs to be watching V today. You can't let him out of your sight."

"Not that I'm complaining about having an excuse to keep my eyes on him at all times, but is there a specific reason I should do that?"

"Ugh, yes! But I can't tell you right now."

"Why not?"

"Are you usually this difficult?!" Even when concerning the safety of someone he really cared deeply about, Jumin could still be a stubborn jerk.

"It depends on what you classify as _difficult_." Zai huffed at his response.

"I don't know, Jumin. Maybe you should ask the suicidal man how he's been feeling recently? Just watch V and make sure he answers his phone when Seven calls!" Zai pressed the 'end call' button a little harder than necessary when hanging up, and suddenly she was regretting saying too much. Sighing into her hands, she gathered herself together before returning her focus to getting ready for the day. There was still a lot to do in such a short amount of time.

Day 10 - 09:24 AM

 _POV: Jumin Mode_

Jumin stared at his phone screen, the 'call ended' notification blinking idly at him while Zai's words echoed in his mind. Ask the suicidal man how he was feeling. The phrase spun mocking circles in his head as he thought about the only possible person she could be referring to.

His body stumbled on autopilot into the bedroom he'd been sharing with V for the past few days. Said man was currently reclining against the pillows while browsing through an old catalog of photos he'd taken when he was younger.

"Hey, Jumin, do you remember this picture?" There was a small smile on his face as he pointed to an image of Jumin lying in the grass, one of his first jackets barely visible in the corner from where it had been tossed to the side. Jumin's heart seized as he took in V's appearance. How many times had he seen him in the past year alone? Had he been so engrossed in his father's company that he hadn't even noticed the warning signs coming from his own best friend?

"Jumin? ...Jumi-" He was so lost in his thoughts he didn't hear V calling out to him until he'd climbed onto the bed and started gripping at the other man's shoulders with desperation.

"Jumin what's wrong?"

"Tell me you weren't going to go through with it."

"Go through with what? Jumin, what's going on?"

"Tell me you weren't going to kill yourself!" He didn't realize he was crying until he noticed the droplets of moisture that were suddenly dotting V's shirt.

The room was silent except for the short breaths Jumin was taking. He was looking into V's eyes with the intensity of a man who had just learned how close he'd been to losing all he held dear. V himself was staring back at Jumin with shock painted across his face, his cerulean eyes wide with terror.

"How did you..." Jumin jumped backward.

"So it's true...you really were going to do it." V set aside the photo album and reached towards him.

"Jumin, Jumin no, please don't be like this."

"Be like what!?" Suddenly Jumin was climbing off the bed and pacing across the room like a caged animal.

"Don't be concerned for your wellbeing? Don't be confused about how you could possibly want to take your own life as though you mean nothing to us, to me!?" The corporate heir was pulling at his hair, the tension in his body making him seem like a rather jerky puppet. V moved to get closer but Jumin just stepped out of his range, looking like he'd rather leap off the balcony than be near him at the moment.

"No, no! Don't come over here. I can't get close to you like this. You might decide to leave me again."

"Jumin please be reasonable."

"Oh, as if you're the sensible one. What kind of sensible person just decides to kill themselves like that, Jihyun?" His name was said mockingly, and Jumin immediately wanted to take back his words as he watched V shudder and back away, expression turning blank.

"...The kind of person who had just lost everything important to them." The atmosphere was stifling as Jumin stared at the man he'd recently learned that he loved withdraw completely, curling into himself.

"Jihyun I didn't mean..."

"No, you're right. It was foolish of me to think that way, but after Rika..." A choked sob echoed through the room and then Jumin was right next to V once more, his arms around him as the other man grasped at his back while he cried into his dress shirt. "Jumin I've already lost one person I loved, I don't know if I could handle it a second time."

"Don't worry Jihyun, I'm not going anywhere." The two men relaxed into each other's embrace before V spoke up once more.

"So...How did you even learn about those..feelings.. of mine?" Jumin pulled back slightly so he could look into those bright eyes he loved so much, even if they were slightly red and puffy from the crying.

"Oh... Zai told me."

"But how would she know? I believe I've only spoken to her about three times since she's joined the RFA."

"Honestly, it doesn't matter, I'm just glad you're safe." He pressed their foreheads together before closing his eyes and just taking in the feeling of being able to hold V in his arms without worrying about whether today would be his last day with his best friend since childhood.

"Promise that you won't ever leave me again?"

"You know I can't promise that."

"Then at least promise me that wherever you go, you'll take me with you."

"...Deal."

Day 10 - 10:17 AM

 _POV: Yoosung Mode_

Yoosung was exhausted. He'd been up for several hours looking through all of the files that Seven had collected on Echo Girl. The only thing he'd had to eat were some of Seven's chips, and while at any other time he would've been thrilled, now he was just sleepy and sick. He felt close to collapsing when he opened one file that had a list of all the statements Echo Girl had made on social media about Zen.

"Luciel, I think I found it!" Almost knocking over the chair as he stood, he turned around to face Seven, who had been furiously typing into the console but was now looking at him intensely.

"Really!?" Seven rolled his chair over, to look at the screen, his face immediately brightening. "Yoosung I could kiss you!"

"Oh, well you can definitely do that in a minute but I think you should look at this first."

Scanning through the article, Seven's eyes lit up as he took in the words that Echo Girl had irrefutably made several months earlier.

"This is perfect! We've got her!" He quickly typed in a few commands to save the selected document and made himself a note so he could tell Zen about it later. "Now we just have to focus on the other matter at hand."

Yoosung's moment of excitement was snuffed out when he remembered that Zai was currently trapped inside Rika's apartment with an active bomb that could go off at any moment. She couldn't even leave or the entire building would go up in flames.

"Luciel, what are we going to do?"

"The only thing we can do, pray."

There was a pause.

"Wait, did I say we? I meant you. You pray, I'll keep trying to restore the security system. Maybe get on the chat and reassure Zen and Jaehee that their girlfriend isn't going to be blown to bits any minute now."

"Your humor is so morbid."

"Hahaha! It's how I cope!"

Tugging lightly on the threads of Seven's jacket, which he'd borrowed for not the first time since he'd arrived at his house, Yoosung looked over at his boyfriend and made a silent promise to help him deal with whatever issues he was having after all this was said and done. He may have been considered the naive one in the RFA, but he could tell when someone was truly upset on the inside.

Pulling out his phone, he decided to listen to Seven's advice.

 _Yoosung_ _has joined the chat room_.

/ **Yoosung** : Hi everyone! Good news! /

/ **ZEN** : Really? Did Seven get control of the security system back from the hacker?!

/ **Yoosung** : Uh, no. /

 **/ Yoosung** : But! We found evidence to prove that you're not guilty! /

/ **ZEN** : Oh, you mean with Echo Girl? /

/ **Yoosung** : Yeah! Apparently, she's been your fan since forever. /

/ **ZEN** : Wow...I mean, I can't say I'm surprised... but still! /

 _Jaehee Kang has joined the chat room._

/ **Jaehee Kang** : This is good! It means Zen can return to acting as soon as the party is over. /

/ **ZEN** : What? How does that work? /

/ **Jaehee Kang** : We can have a press conference at the party to prove that you didn't assault Echo Girl. /

/ **Jaehee Kang** : Because of all the important people that will be there, we can get the word out faster, with more high-profile news coverage. /

/ **ZEN** : That's a great idea, Jaehee! /

/ **Jaehee Kang** : I..Thank you... /

/ **ZEN** : Now where's Zai? We should tell her! /

/ **Jaehee Kang** : I don't know. She left rather abruptly earlier. /

/ **Yoosung** : I hope she's all right;; /

/ **Yoosung** : It must be scary being in that apartment all alone. /

Day 10 - 10:56 AM

"Stupid bomb...stupid apartment...stupid stupid Rika!" Zai was losing it. Already she'd done her best to move all of the cameras she could find so that they wouldn't be able to see her inevitable confrontation with Unknown. She knew Seven would be too busy trying to regain control of the special security system to watch her, especially when he knew that she wouldn't risk trying to leave the apartment and chance blowing herself up.

"I can't have him seeing this and sending everyone over here. Ugh, why did she have to make everything so difficult!? Who puts a bomb in an apartment? As soon as that useless security system is disabled I'm going to open up those drawers and find out just what it is that's so important that she'd risk killing herself for." As soon as she'd finished moving the cameras to the point where they wouldn't be able to see her or Unknown, she went into the closet to get out all the things she'd bought the other day.

"Let me see...Rope, check. Cloth, check. Noise canceling headphones? Check. Now where's my phone..." She was about to start looking for where she'd put her new phone when her old one started buzzing in her back pocket. "What is it now..?"

 _Zai has joined the chat room._

/ **Zai** : Hey! What's up? /

/ **ZEN** : Zai! /

/ **Jaehee Kang** : Zai, Yoosung, and Seven have found the necessary documents required to prove that Zen is innocent. /

/ **Zai** : That's great Zen! ^^ /

/ **Jaehee Kang** : Isn't it? /

/ **ZEN** : Yeah! Now if only Seven could hurry up with the security system so we can get Zai out of that apartment... /

/ **Zai** : Don't worry, Zenny. I'm sure he's trying his best. /

/ **ZEN** : Still, I think I should go over to try and help. I feel so useless just sitting around like this. /

/ **Zai** : Oh, no, please don't trouble yourself like that. /

/ **Zai** : Actually, you might distract him more if you go. /

/ **Jaehee Kang** : She's right. It's best that we leave Luciel to focus on his work at the moment. /

/ **ZEN** : Ugh, I hate it when you're right;; /

/ **Jaehee Kang** : Speaking of focusing on work, has anyone seen Jumin in the chat recently? /

/ **ZEN** : Nope. Has anyone tried contacting him or V? /

/ **Zai** : I did a little while ago, but it wasn't related to anything that's currently going on. /

/ **Jaehee Kang** : You called him on your own? What for? /

/ **Zai** : Uh, nothing important. /

/ **ZEN** : What? Then why would you message him at all? /

/ **Zai** : I just had to, ok? /

/ **Zai** : Anyways, I have to go. I lost something and I'm trying to find it. /

/ **Zai** : Call me if you have an update? /

/ **Jaehee Kang** : Of course. /

/ **ZEN** : Sure thing, babe. Please be safe! /

/ **Zai** : Don't worry about me, okay? ^^ /

/ **Zai** : I'll be fine, I promise. /

/ **ZEN** : I'll hold you to that;; /

 _Zai has left the chat room._

"Now that's over with...where did I put that phone?"

Day 10 - 11:29 AM

 _POV: Jaehee Mode_

Checking the time, Jaehee realized that it was almost lunch. Standing up from her place among the several boxes she'd brought home from her office at C&R International, she gave a small sigh before moving to the kitchen to make herself another cup of coffee. It was only after drinking half of her fifth cup that morning did the gravity of the situation finally hit her. Zai could die today. The woman that she'd come to love so dearly was in mortal peril, and she was sitting in this cramped apartment unpacking her things as if there was nothing wrong.

Setting the mug down on the kitchen counter a little more forcefully than necessary, Jaehee pulled on her most comfortable outfit, stepped out the door, and started jogging.

* * *

It was only a little while later that she arrived at the main C&R Branch building, and by extension, Jumin's home. It appeared he hadn't hired a new chief assistant yet or changed the codes for the private elevator. She turned a few heads with her casual attire, but once people recognized who she was, they quickly parted as she made her way through the office structure.

Once she stepped off of the lift, she quickly put in the password for Jumin's private suite and walked inside. Elizabeth the 3rd was sleeping next to her food bowl. In a moment of pity for the feline, which had obviously not been getting as much attention as she used to, Jaehee cleaned and refilled both her dishes before making a beeline to the master bedroom.

She opened the door as loudly as possible, and if she was surprised to see a half-naked Jumin Han lounging on his bed next to an equally half-naked V, she didn't show it.

"Jumin I understand that you're mostly incapable of acknowledging the outside world without me reminding you of your duties, but now is not the time." Both men jumped as they noticed her intrusion and Jumin hastily pulled one of the sheets up to cover V's exposed chest and shoulders.

"Assistant- I mean, Jaehee... What are you doing here?"

"There is a bomb currently active beneath Rika's apartment, and I'm assuming the two of you, as well as Luciel, knew of it and didn't tell anyone."

The room was tense and silent before V spoke up.

"Please do not blame Jumin, Jaehee. It was I that agreed to the installment of the bomb." Jumin didn't look surprised by this news, and Jaehee narrowed her eyes.

"That may be so, but you were both privy to this knowledge before anyone else in the RFA. Now Zai's life is in danger because the special security system was hacked, and Luciel is the only one who can get her out safely." Jumin and V shared a look, and Jaehee wondered when their relationship had developed into something so...personal.

Climbing off the bed, Jumin moved over to his closet and pulled out a set of clothes.

"I'll get dressed to leave. Jaehee, I assume you still know the security code to my phone?"

"Yes."

"Good. Please contact security and have them send guards to both Zen and Luciel's homes. If the RFA is being targeted, we can't be too sure about whether or not the rest of them are in danger as well."

"Yes, si- Jumin."

There was a strange gleam in Jumin's eyes as he regarded her, but Jaehee held fast as he nodded at her in approval before moving to the bathroom and locking the door. Now she was alone with V, who was, unfortunately, still undressed.

"Jaehee I'm sorry."

"Whatever for?"

"When I encouraged you to take the job offer from Jumin, I didn't mean for him to work you so hard. He was supposed to provide a stepping stone for you to move on in your life." Looking over at him, Jaehee focused her gaze on V's teal eyes.

"It isn't your fault, V, don't be so self-centered." He jolted at her words. "You think that everything bad that happens to those of us in the RFA is somehow your fault. It isn't. Plus, there are more important things to be worried about. Working for Jumin taught me several things about myself, and in a bizarre way, I'm glad that he did what he did." There was a spark in her gaze that wasn't there before, and Jaehee squared herself before standing as straight as she could.

"I'll never let myself be used again in that way, but without him, I'd have never gotten the opportunity to meet Zai or Zen, so I'm thankful." She pointed her finger directly at V. "But if something happens to the woman that I love because of the foolish decision that you and Rika made, so help me, I will never forgive you." Her voice broke on the last part, but she was still strong in her resolve.

Without giving V time to respond, she turned on her heel and faced the doorway.

"Have Jumin call me once you two are finished getting dressed. We have to be ready for anything today." She grabbed Jumin's phone off of the side table where he'd left it and started to walk out the door when she heard V shout, "Jaehee, wait!" She wasn't prepared for the man to all but leap out of bed and dash to grasp her wrist.

"I must apologize again, but there is something I have to ask you." Turning to face him, she gently tugged her arm out of V's grasp.

"Yes?"

His adrenaline rush must have been smaller than she'd expected because V withdrew into himself slightly before speaking up again.

"Zai called Jumin earlier..."

"Yes, I know. She told us."

"Then I need you to tell me, how did she know I was planning on committing suicide?" Jaehee felt like the floor was falling out from beneath her feet. V had wanted to take his own life? When had this happened?

"I...I don't...she didn't tell us that.." She could feel the blood draining from her face as understanding sank its claws into her, a chill running down her spine. Just what had the RFA missed in regards to its members that a girl who had been with them for less than two weeks could see the signs of suicidal feelings in a man she'd talked to less than four times? "She said it wasn't important..."

Jaehee pressed a hand to her mouth as she saw realization dawn on V's face.

"I see, thank you Jaehee, this has been most insightful. I suggest that you carry out Jumin's request of sending security to the other RFA member's houses. I have a feeling that we will need it." Looking up at him, she still couldn't push away the feeling of dread that had settled into her chest.

"V...you'll be okay, right?" He turned back to look at her before flashing a comforting smile.

"It'll be fine, Jaehee. I have something...someone, to live for now." His eyes flashed towards the bathroom that Jumin had disappeared into before coming back to hers.

"Ah, I understand."

Finally exiting the room, Jaehee punched in the passcode and started calling up Jumin's bodyguards.

"Zai, I hope you know what you're doing."

Day 10 - 12:47 PM

It was over half-past noon when Zai had finally finished all her preparations for Unknown's arrival.

"Hah...when he gets here, I won't have a lot of time." She'd placed the rope beneath the rug in the hallway so she could reach it easily, and she was wearing hardy denim pants and boots to protect her feet and legs from the inevitable shards of broken glass that would cover the floor when Unknown broke into the apartment from the window. Now all she needed was something she could use to knock him out.

"Shoot, shoot...Okay, what's something that can knock out a person without killing them? A gun is completely out of the question, and I can't stab him..." Zai was rifling through the kitchen cabinets when her hand came into contact with something hard and heavy.

Standing on her tiptoes, she carefully pulled a rather small cast iron skillet out of the pantry. Staring at its glossy black finish for a moment, Zai tested its weight in her hands before giving it a practice swing.

She set it in the corner by the window before muttering absently to herself.

"I can't believe I'm doing this..."

Day 10 - 01:52 PM

 _POV: ZEN Mode_

Zen had been pacing around his apartment for at least two hours. After logging off of the chat, he decided to exercise in hopes that it would help him work off some of his nervous energy. Once that failed to work, he took a cold shower. Then he tried cooking himself something, but realized that he didn't have any groceries. Now he was wearing a line in his carpet as he moved back and forth across the plush surface, his mind and heart churning with worry over Zai.

He knew that she'd told him to leave Seven alone so that he could focus on trying to regain control of the security system, but he couldn't just stand around waiting while everyone else worked to keep her safe. Even Jaehee had vanished after sending Zen a quick call telling him that she was with Jumin and V and that he should expect some of Jumin's bodyguards to arrive at his house sooner or later.

Almost growling with stress, Zen made up his mind and grabbed his helmet off the table and rushed out the door to the garage. Jumping onto his motorcycle, he revved the engine before speeding off to Seven's house.

Day 10 - 02:19 PM

 _POV: 707 Mode_

Seven was working overdrive at his station with Yoosung watching tensely behind him. He'd been focused on his screen of code, and even though he was hungry beyond belief, he hadn't torn his eyes away for more than a second in order to respond to something Yoosung had said or to check the RFA chat for any important updates. Squinting at the command lines and executables he'd written, he was nearly launched out of his seat with surprise as both he and Yoosung were startled from their work at the rapid banging coming from the front door.

Quickly switching to his outdoor camera feed, Seven's eyes almost popped out of his head as he realized just who was standing outside of his house.

"Zen!? What's he doing here!?" Yoosung said the words before he could but Seven was still stunned. Hadn't Zai warned him to stay away?

"Yoosung..?"

"I'm on it!" Seven watched the younger man climb out of his chair to let Zen in, and Seven allowed himself a moment to feel a rush of affection for the blond. Yoosung had been nothing but supportive these past few hours, and even though he was hard pressed to succeed in his retaking of the security system, his adorable boyfriend had done everything and more to keep Seven focused and in control of the situation. Returning to his typing, he could hear Zen's voice even from where he was sitting.

"Look, if there's anything I can do it help."

"We really appreciate your concern, Zen, but Luciel needs to focus! If you really wanna help, I guess you could go to the convenience store and grab some lunch? We haven't eaten in forever."

"Sure, yeah, I can do that. You'll leave the door unlocked?"

"Mhm! I'll tell everyone you're with us too so that Jumin's bodyguards won't go to your house. No sense in guarding the place if you're not there."

"Kay, I'll be back in a few."

"Drive safe!"

Seven could hear Yoosung's quick footsteps, and a small grin appeared on his face as he felt slender arms wrap around his shoulders.

"...Luciel?"

He let his head fall back so he could press a hasty kiss to Yoosung's cheek before refocusing on his work.

"Thanks for distracting Zen for me, cutie! I think I'm almost done. Any big distractions and I might have lost the upper hand, nice work!" He knew if he looked back right now, he'd see a bright red blush appear on his boyfriend's cheeks.

"It's no problem. I know how hard it is to do what you're doing, and I know Zen means well, but he has to learn that he can't do everything at once." There was both concern and exhaustion in Yoosung's voice, and Seven promised himself a vacation after this was all over. Maybe he'd take Yoosung to the beach?

There was a loud beeping noise and Seven almost slammed his hands into the keyboard with excitement as he realized...

"I did it!" Yoosung whooped with joy and nearly fell out of his chair as he and Seven realized that Zai was finally safe from a possible death by explosion.

Squinting at his screen, Seven put in a few commands to try and fix the security problem that prevented RFA members from entering or exiting the apartment, when he realized something was wrong.

"Wait...I don't have control over the security system...It's just disabled the bomb."

"What? Isn't that a good thing?" Trying to stop his hands from shaking, Seven ran a diagnostics program before turning around in his chair to face Yoosung.

"I mean, yeah, the bomb won't activate anymore, but now there's nothing stopping anyone from entering the apartment. Zai is essentially defenseless at this point." He swallowed nervously. "Good thing Zen isn't here or he'd probably run over there right now..."

Seven and Yoosung locked eyes for a moment.

"Luciel we have to tell them."

"Yeah, you're right." He spun the chair around again and reached for his phone.

 _707 has joined the chat room._

/ **Jumin Han** : Luciel. Any updates on the situation? /

/ **707** : Hahaha...about that... /

 _Yoosung_ _has joined the chat room_.

/ **Yoosung** : Seven managed to get control back for the security system, but... /

/ **707** : I just deactivated it. Something is stopping me from turning it back on and giving RFA members access. /

/ **707** : There's nothing protecting Rika's apartment right now. /

/ **Jumin Han** : What? That means we should send someone to pick up Zai, correct? /

/ **707** : Yeah, that'd probably be a good idea, but it would involve giving out the address to Rika's apartment... /

/ **707** : V is with you right? /

/ **707** : Ask him what he thinks. /

/ **Jumin Han** : I'm not sure if this is the time to ask such things, but I shall try. /

 _Jumin Han has left the chat room._

 _Zai has joined the chat room._

/ **Zai** : Seven, Yoosung... /

/ **Yoosung** : Zai! Good news! Someone might come to get you soon! /

/ **Zai** : Um, yeah...About that. /

/ **Zai** : I know Zen is probably at your place, or he's going to be there soon. /

/ **707** : What!? How would you know? /

/ **Zai** : Please, I know Zen. He's so impulsive, it'd be pretty endearing if it wasn't such a dangerous trait to have. /

Seven narrowed his eyes at the screen. Zai had been acting weirdly all day. She seemed much too calm for someone whose life was currently under multiple threats.

/ **707** : Is there anything you want us to tell him? /

/ **Zai** : Something like that. /

/ **Zai** : I need you two to stop him from leaving your house, Seven. /

/ **707** : Whoa, what?! /

/ **Yoosung** : Are you being serious, Zai?! /

/ **Zai** : As a heart attack. /

/ **707** : I don't understand. Do you even want to be rescued? /

/ **Zai** : That isn't important right now Seven. /

/ **Zai** : Please listen to me when I say that it is extremely important that you keep Zen from coming here. /

/ **Zai** : In fact, my life may depend on you not letting him get to the apartment. /

/ **Zai** : I don't care what you have to do, just make sure he stays away, okay? /

/ **Yoosung** : You're scaring me, Zai! What's going on with you?;;;;/

/ **Zai** : I'm fine, Yoosung ^^ Believe me when I say that. /

/ **707** : You're very calm right now. Do you really trust us that much? /

/ **Zai** : I trust the RFA with my life, Seven. /

/ **Zai** : But right now I need you all to trust me. /

/ **Zai** : Make sure Zen doesn't come to the apartment for me. /

/ **Zai** : I can handle myself. /

/ **707** : ...If you're certain. /

/ **Yoosung** : Luciel!? You can't be agreeing to this! /

/ **Yoosung** : The hacker might break into the apartment at any moment now that the security system is disabled! /

/ **707** : I know, but if Zai believes that she'll be fine, then we just have to believe in her too. /

/ **Zai** : Thank you, Seven ^^ /

/ **Zai** : Also, if it isn't too much trouble, maybe send him to Jaehee's? She might be more help in calming him down. /

/ **Zai** : Talk to you soon~ /

 _Zai has left the chat room._

Staring at the last text Zai sent, Seven absently wondered if she was better at keeping secrets than he was.

Day 10 - 03:41 PM

 _POV: ZEN Mode_

Zen arrived back at Seven's house later than expected with what may very well have been the entire convenience store inside the plastic bags that were hanging off his arms like ornaments. Jumin's bodyguards littered the outside of the building and gave him just enough room to pass by them and enter the house.

"Zen, you're back! You, uh, got a lot of stuff there."

"Yeah I didn't know what I should get so I pretty much grabbed everything in sight."

"Oh...well I guess you can set that down over here." Yoosung led Zen into the kitchen. On the way there, he saw Seven sitting in front of his monitors, furiously typing a response to someone on his phone.

"Hey! Did you get control of the security system back?" Seven's head snapped up so fast that Zen was a little worried that he'd hurt his neck, but he wasn't expecting the flash of terror he'd seen in the other man's eyes.

"Hahahah...yeah...I got it back..but there's still one teeny problem left.."

"Well? What is it?"

"I can't turn the security back on. Rika's apartment is basically..defenseless right now."

"WHAT!?" Suddenly, Yoosung was back in the room, pulling on Zen's arm urgently.

"Zen! Why don't you help me fix lunch? We're all starving, and you know how people act on empty stomachs!"

"Not now, Yoosung! I have to go get Zai!"

"No, wait, you can't!" Yoosung pulled so hard on the back of Zen's jacket that he almost fell forward onto his face when he turned around to run towards the door. "Zen you can't leave!"

"Why not!?"

"You just can't!"

At this point, Seven put his phone down and stood up before walking over to the two and looking Zen right in the eyes.

"You can't go to her apartment because Zai told us herself that she doesn't want you to go."

Zen stilled and felt a coldness begin to grow within his chest.

"W-why would she...why would she say that...?" Seven glanced down at his feet.

"She said something about you being too impulsive. Anyways, I still haven't heard back from Jumin and V about whether or not we should reveal the apartment's address. So why don't you just sit tight and help Yoosung cook instead of fretting?"

The room's atmosphere was charged with tension as Zen's mind was filled with a whirlwind of thoughts. Zai didn't want him to come save her. Didn't she trust him? Had he done something that would make her choose between staying in an undefended apartment as opposed to him going to get her? He was so absorbed in his own head that he didn't hear Seven calling his name until the other man snapped his fingers in his face.

"Hey! Now isn't the time to be getting into a pity party! If you really want to be useful, you can make lunch!"

"...Yeah...ok." He straightened up and let himself be pulled along by Yoosung, who had subtly turned around and mouthed 'Call Jaehee' at Seven before returning his focus towards encouraging the stunned man into the kitchen and explaining how to chop vegetables. In the back of his mind, Zen thought about Zai and realized that even though he loved her and felt like he knew her well, she was ultimately still a stranger on the outside.

Day 10 - 05:41 PM

 _POV: Yoosung Mode_

Yoosung was beyond nervous. The entire household was currently tense beyond belief. Jaehee had arrived at Seven's house a little after four, and everyone had been waiting on word from V and Jumin before proceeding. However, it was almost two hours afterward with no news. He and Zen had made food, but very little of it had been eaten, and now there was nothing left to do except just hold on and hope for the best.

"Zai hasn't been online in a while...do you think she's okay?" Yoosung was sitting next to Seven in his own chair, legs crossed and fingers in constant motion. The gravity of the situation was making him so anxious that he'd started unconsciously mimicking LOLOL combo patterns while he bounced his leg up and down.

"I'm sure she's fine." Seven hadn't stopped typing ever since Jaehee had gotten there, his eyes were fixed on the screens and his hands had been in constant motion for several hours. Yoosung was worried about his boyfriend's mental state. If something happened...

He'd been about to ask whether or not there had been any updates from Jumin and V when several of Seven's screens started flashing at once.

"What? Luciel? What's going on?"

Seven suddenly stood, fingers flying across the keyboard faster than Yoosung had ever seen them before. "It's...Something's wrong! Really wrong! My cameras! They're not working right!"

The panic in his voice put Yoosung on edge, and then both Zen and Jaehee were standing too.

"Seven what's going on!?"

"Is something wrong with the apartment?"

"I-I don't know! The cameras all activated but they aren't angled properly! It's like someone mov-" Seven froze, a look of sheer terror on his face as he grabbed his phone and all but threw it at Yoosung, while screaming, "CALL JUMIN NOW!" Scrambling to hold onto the device, Yoosung dialed the familiar number while Seven typed forcefully, both Jaehee and Zen looking on with fear.

"..Hello? Jumin? I don't really know what's happening but Luciel seems really freaked out- Ah!" The phone was snatched out of his hands by Seven.

"Jumin you have to send bodyguards to Rika's apartment right now!"

"What? I thought we weren't supposed to give out the location-"

"That doesn't matter anymore! Someone has to go!"

"Fine, fine. Give me the address and I'll send someone over." Seven rattled off a string of words and numbers.

"Just hurry, please!" He hung up without giving him time to respond.

Zen was now openly panicking and Jaehee was doing all she could to keep him from losing it completely.

"Seven you have to tell us what's wrong!? Is Zai okay!?"

"Hahaha...I don't know! I don't know! The cameras aren't working! I can't see anything in the apartment, and there's no one outside!"

Yoosung's gaze flickered between his friends and his boyfriend. How was he supposed to keep everyone together? While Zen was being held by Jaehee, he moved over to stand in front of Seven.

"W-wha, Yoosung? Get out of the way I have to focus!"

"Hold on a second, Luciel." He put his hands on his boyfriend's shoulders and brought their faces close together. Yoosung pressed a gentle kiss to Seven's lips before pulling away. "If you lose your head now, you won't be able to concentrate, and you'll make mistakes. So calm down, okay? We need you to be thinking clearly right now." Doing his best to keep his voice steady, he watched as the light came back to Seven's eyes.

"...You're right, Yoosung. Alright! I've got it. Now please move aside cutie, I have work to do."

Yoosung nodded and got out of Seven's way. Looking over to his friends, he realized that Zen now had his head between his knees, with Jaehee using one hand to rub his back. Her other hand was holding on to her glasses, but Yoosung could see the tension in her grip, and wondered if she'd snap the frames.

At an almost inaudible level, he whispered out a plea.

"Zai, I don't think we understand you as well as we thought we do, but please...don't do anything reckless..."

Day 10 - 07:22 PM

 _POV: Jaehee Mode_

If Jaehee had said that she wasn't upset about the situation she'd have been lying to the extreme. She was currently without her glasses, having broken the frames in half a little less than half an hour ago. Some time after Seven had sent out the alert to Jumin, all his screens had started flashing red. At the moment, she hadn't been able to comprehend what was happening. There was shouting, and then he was shoving all of his electronics off the desk and screaming. Yoosung had done his best to try and calm the other boy down through his own hysterics. Now the two were huddled together on the kitchen floor, wrapped up in one of Seven's oversized jackets. As for her and Zen...

Looking over to the man sitting at her side, Jaehee tried not to give in to the crushing weight surrounding her chest as she folded their hands together.

"...Zen?" His head was bowed, but she could still see a sliver of red peeking out between silver threads.

"Jaehee... do you think...we misjudged her?"

"No."

"Why not?" She pondered for a moment, taking the time to focus on how Zen's hand felt in hers, while the absent of the other was palpable as her other palm clutched at the sofa's fabric covering.

"I believe that Zai had her own issues on the inside," She could feel the tears starting to collect in her eyes. "But I think she focused so much on helping us that she forgot to care about herself."

Now doing her best not to start outright sobbing, she didn't notice when Zen moved to wrap his arms around her torso.

"It's never going to feel complete again, is it?" She could sense the moisture starting to soak through her jacket. Jaehee returned his embrace, then hiccuped once, twice, and the tears started flowing in earnest.

"No...No it won't..."

Day 10 - 08:58 PM

 _POV: V Mode_

By the time Jumin returned to the room, it was late, and V was getting nervous. He'd received no updates from Seven's house, and judging by the dead expression on his lover's face, the news couldn't be good.

"Jumin...Jumin, what's happened?" He waited until the man was within arms reach before grasping at his wrist. "Jumin, please." If there was one thing he was expecting from Jumin, it wasn't the sudden hug. Although it was pleasant, he still couldn't help the sensation of foreboding that the other man exuded. The two of them simply stood, embracing loosely, before Jumin let his head fall against V's shoulder.

"The apartment...is gone, Jihyun."

"Gone? What do you mean gone?" His bewilderment must have been obvious because Jumin pulled away from his arms to look him in the eyes, eyes which were getting worse at seeing the world around them each day.

"I mean...the apartment where Zai was staying," He was avoiding her name now? "It's completely gone. Obliterated. My bodyguards arrived there a couple hours ago to find them already putting out the fire. I'm...I'm sorry."

V thought he was standing straight, but he could feel the world tilting. Then Jumin was holding his head in his lap and looking into his eyes with concern painted on his face.

"Jihyun! Are you okay? You nearly fainted..."

"I failed them...I failed _her_."

"What? Now you're speaking in tongues too."

"Jumin you don't understand," V pressed a hand against his eyes until dots bloomed behind his eyelids. "She trusted me...I told her that she'd be safe there. I thought...I thought that things could finally go back to how they were before Rika..." Suddenly his breaths were coming out in pants and sobs and he could feel himself being enveloped in Jumin's arms as he let out all the feelings he'd been containing since the death of his fiancee.

"I should have told them everything from the start! Maybe then Zai wouldn't be-"

"No, don't go there." When he looked up, Jumin's gaze was more intense than he'd remembered.

"Don't blame yourself for this. We all made mistakes, you more so than others, but we've all contributed to this occurrence and now we'll have to live with it. None of this self-pity nonsense." Picking himself up off the floor and brushing off his pants and jacket, Jumin reached down to pull V up into his arms once more.

"This has been..a terrible turn of events, but I will tell you right now, that you and I are going to continue to live. If not for ourselves, then for everyone else. We cannot afford to lose hope." Swallowing his fears, V let himself relax into Jumin's hold.

"What will we tell the other members?"

"The truth. Like we should have, a long time ago."

"And if they hate me for it?"

"Well then, at least you'll have me."

In spite of himself, V let out a gentle laugh.

"Thank you."


	23. ? ? Route - Day 10 - Part 3

Day 10 - 05:25 PM

Zai had been sitting in silence for almost two hours now. She was curled up against the corner of the room next to the window, out of sight from anyone looking in. There was no way she was going to risk being caught off guard by Unknown. The frying pan was lying on the floor next to her right hand, and she was using her left to answer the last few emails she had yet to respond to. She didn't want to leave any loose ends when she finally left the apartment, and the RFA's email functions didn't work outside of the building's radius.

She'd just sent off her last reply, a thank-you for attending the new party when she could hear the idle thumping that would most likely come from someone scaling a building to reach an apartment on the 14th floor. Gripping the pan's handle and standing up slowly, Zai tried to press herself even further into the wall as she anticipated the second that Unknown would enter the apartment. Even though she'd been preparing for this moment, she still jumped when her window was shattered by a thick leather boot.

Said boot quickly withdrew and there were a few seconds where the only audible sound was the crunching of glass as the window pane was cleared of debris to the point where it was safe to enter. It only a took a few seconds for Unknown to climb into the apartment, blessedly looking away from where Zai was standing, before she swung the pan and-

 _Clang!_

Throwing the cooking utensil to the side and wincing at the loud noise it made, she grabbed onto Unknown's arms as he went limp in order to keep him from falling face first into the shards of glass that were currently littering the floor. Zai quickly dragged him through the carnage of her broken window to drop him onto the sofa before divesting him of his leather jacket and hastily checking his pockets and clothes for anything dangerous.

In the five minutes it took for her to search everything, she'd discovered three knives, a gun (with the safety on thank goodness), and of course, the detonator that was currently connected to the bomb sitting underneath the apartment. Taking special care to relocate it to the kitchen counter, Zai got out of the cloth pads she'd purchased and wrapped his wrists and ankles with them. She then tied up both sets of limbs with the rope, careful to make sure that he wouldn't be able to slip out of them when he woke up.

Lastly, she placed a hand against the back of his head to check and see if she'd given him too bad a concussion. The last thing she wanted to do was be a murderer, but thankfully there was only a small lump and no blood. To her surprise, his hair was incredibly smooth, and she had to pull her hand away before she got too engrossed in running her fingers through the soft strands. When she turned around to get her phone out, she noticed the red light flashing on one of the cameras she'd moved.

"Uh oh," She'd forgotten that the cameras were both motion and noise activated. "Guess I've run out of time." For once, she was glad that Rika's apartment was incredibly isolated. It would take at least half an hour for any of the RFA members to get there from their homes. However, with both Seven and Jumin living the farthest away, if everyone had listened to her, then she'd have about an hour to get out if they all left now.

"Looks like I'm going to have to do this as quickly as possible." With that, she started emptying out the drawers that she'd been told not to touch. She pulled out tons of documents with some incredibly familiar faces printed on them. Zai suddenly felt like she was living in some sort of crime film.

"These are all profiles of the members of the RFA..." The dread in her heart only grew with each file she read. There was one for Zen, Jaehee, Yoosung, Seven, Jumin, and V. In fact, the only person who was missing a file was-

"I knew there was something strange about her! It always comes back to Rika, doesn't it!?" Throwing all the papers to the floor, she reached under the sofa for the remnants of rope and dashed to the bedroom in order to get a couple of her blankets. Time to put her knot tying skills to the test.

* * *

It had taken her a while, but after a lot of careful work, she'd successfully lowered a motionless Unknown down 14 stories to the ground. Getting herself down would be much easier, and after some delicate maneuvering in order to avoid touching the remaining glass in the window, she herself was sliding down the long escape line that had been assembled out of the remaining rope, several sheets, and even some of her sturdier pairs of jeans. Once reaching the ground, she started on the slightly more arduous task of carrying the unconscious man several blocks down the street to where her car was parked.

When she finally reached the vehicle, she made sure to firmly secure Unknown in the back seat by using two crossing seat belts instead of just one, before withdrawing so she could close the door and lean against the outside of the car. Zai was thoroughly exhausted, but there was still one more thing she had left to do.

"If my hunch is correct, then the person who's waiting for you to get back is going to have to find someone else to do her dirty work for her." Reaching into the pocket of her jacket, she pulled out the detonator for the bomb and removed the cap from the top of the device.

Taking a deep breath, she placed her thumb on the button.

"Haha...No going back now." Ignoring the tears that were starting to form in her eyes, she pressed down.

Although she had some idea of what the bomb was supposed to do thanks to the pictures that Seven had sent to try to warn her of the possibilities, she still wasn't expecting the blast of warmth and light that came from the explosion. She was thankful that Rika's apartment was situated far enough away from any other residences that the explosion wouldn't hurt anybody, as the plume of fire that had currently taken over the building would have definitely caused a lot of panicking had it been located anywhere more populated.

"Well, I have an unconscious guy in the back seat of my car, and I just faked my own death. So, things are going pretty okay today."

Shielding her eyes from the inferno, Zai threw the rest of the belongings she'd grabbed from the apartment into the car, climbed into the driver's seat, and started the engine. It was time to go back home. She missed her dog.


	24. The Party - Day 11 - Part 1

✧ Day 11 - 08:12 AM ✧

 _POV: Yoosung Mode_

If possible, the morning after was even harder to deal with than the actual incident itself. At some point during the night, Yoosung and Seven had moved to his bed. When he woke up, he'd done his best to snake out of Luciel's grasp without waking him, only to discover that neither Zen or Jaehee had gone home. They were both entwined on Seven's couch, and if Yoosung was more aware of his surroundings, he'd probably feel bad about the aches that the two of them would no doubt be experiencing once they got up.

Yoosung went through his morning routine as slowly and methodically as possible. He made four cups of coffee, one for Zen, one for Jaehee, one for himself, and one for Seven. He set them aside to be reheated later, and afterward, made his way back to bed and let himself fall into Seven's waiting arms.

"There you are, Cutie...I missed you."

"I just got up to make coffee, Luciel." Turning to nuzzle into his boyfriend's shoulder, Yoosung sank into the blankets with a hum. None of the house's occupants were ready to deal with the aftermath of yesterday's event, but they still had to get up and prepare regardless of how they felt.

After all, the party was today.

✧ Day 11 - 08:55 AM ✧

 _POV: Jumin Mode_

Knocking on Seven's door for the third time in the past five minutes, Jumin idly wondered when his life had gotten so complicated. At the current moment, he was standing outside with several suitcases full of formal clothing while his..boyfriend? Lover? panicked quietly next to him for the seventh time since the two of them had left Jumin's penthouse.

Sighing, he was prepared to knock a fourth time when the door was suddenly opened by a disgruntled looking Jaehee who immediately ushered them both inside before all but slamming it closed again.

"Jaehee-" He wanted to ask how she was doing when he was suddenly interrupted.

"A-ah, no. No words right now. Be quiet." Jumin was silent mostly due to surprise. He couldn't remember the last time someone had spoken to him with such a tone. Jaehee pointed towards the couch before walking into the kitchen and coming out with two sets of utensils and two plates of omurice. She handed one pair to each of them. "Knowing you and V, I doubt that either of you has eaten anything yet. So finish that first, then we can all get ready."

Jumin looked over at V, who was staring at the food in front of him, before trying a bit of the egg. It didn't taste that bad, and neither he nor V had any desire for food the previous night. So after assuring that it wasn't poisonous, both men dug in with vigor. While they were eating, Seven dropped into the empty seat next to Jumin and slid two coffee mugs their way.

"Here. If you're anything like me in the morning then you're probably not fully functional until your second cup." His normally enthusiastic grin was only at about a third capacity, and Jumin wondered if it was possible for the RFA to completely recover from losing their second party planner.

"Thank you, Luciel." He took a fortifying sip of the bitter liquid, the taste doing more to wake him up than the caffeine.

"If...you don't mind me asking, how are you and Yoosung holding up?" Jumin watched Seven stiffen, before almost immediately relaxing again.

"Hahaha, you know. I had a little meltdown, but my boy kept me from losing my cool. He's just what I needed!"

Jumin hoped that Seven knew that he could understand a redirection when it was given to him. Seven was calm on the outside but Jumin knew that he was undoubtedly a storm of emotions on the inside. The boy was obviously avoiding the deeper subject that was currently at the forefront of everyone's minds. However, he wasn't going to press. He understood that things were rather strained at the moment. It wouldn't do him any good to unnecessarily stress him out when they all needed to be in proper form for the party and the following impromptu press conference.

"I see. I hope you don't mind our intrusion then. We thought it would be better for us to come here instead of requesting that everyone else move."

"Yeah yeah, that's fine. You brought the fancy stuff?" Jumin gestured to the suitcases that had been moved out of the way. "Okay, just give us a minute to clean up and we'll all get dressed."

Seven hopped off of the couch and made his way back into the kitchen. Turning to face the man sitting next to him, Jumin set his empty plate aside and placed his hand on V's thigh, trying not to relish the feeling of him stilling at his touch.

"Jihyun, you have to tell them." V placed his plate on the table and sighed. Although Jumin couldn't see his eyes through the dark glasses, he knew that V was most likely looking anywhere but his face.

"Jumin I'm not sure if they'll listen, or even understand."

"They don't have to, but you still have to tell them. They deserve to know the truth."

V looked like he'd rather take a flying leap off of Seven's balcony than have to explain his absence from the RFA to everyone. Jumin let his hand fall from his thigh and moved it to intertwine their fingers together instead.

"Jihyun..." There was a moment where he could've sworn that V's eyes were locked with his.

"Okay."

"...You'll do it then?"

"Yes, but only if you'll stay here to help me."

"As if I'd have it any other way."

✧ Day 11 - 09:20 AM ✧

 _POV: 707 Mode_

Seven had been doing his best to avoid the inevitable fallout. After he'd lost it the previous night and ended up breaking at least two keyboards and a computer screen, it had taken Yoosung a whole hour to bring him back down. Now all the (remaining) members of the RFA were sitting in his living room, waiting for V and Jumin to finally explain just what had been going on.

"So like, who's gonna start?" V had already been slouching a lot, but now he'd deflated so much that he was practically folded in half over himself. Jumin didn't look much better, but he was keeping his composure in order to put up a strong front.

"I suppose there's no better time than the present." Zen looked like he was about to say something rather scathing, but Jaehee had squeezed his shoulder almost imperceptibly in order to prevent him from starting a possible argument. Likewise, Yoosung was sitting in Seven's lap, half for comfort, half to keep the other boy from suddenly getting up in case things got heated.

"You all know that the RFA was founded by Rika and I, yes?" A round of nods from everyone.

"Well, there were things...that we kept from the rest of the association."

"Like what?" Of course, Yoosung was always the first one to question V. That was how it'd been since he announced his engagement to Rika.

"There was the bomb, for example."

"There better not be anything else like that, V, or I swear to-" Zen's expression briefly turned into something undecipherable before he went silent. Thanks, Jaehee.

"No, no. You're all right. I should have never given in to that particular request. But at the time, considering what was at stake..." V slowly reached up before pulling off his glasses, folding them, and handing the pair to Jumin, who pocketed them smoothly.

"Rika...I tried so hard to maintain her image after everything, but there was nothing I could do to keep her."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Now Jaehee was speaking up too.

"I'm sorry everyone. We've been misleading you for so long. Rika...did not commit suicide, like we'd led you to believe."

At that, the entire room was filled with silence. Seven tightened his grip around Yoosung as he felt the beginnings of movement from him, no doubt because his boyfriend probably wanted to jump V and get him to explain further. Zen seemed to freeze, going taut as though he was a puppet with his strings being pulled. Jaehee looked like she was ready to collapse, and Jumin...

Jumin's expression hadn't changed at all.

"Haha..hah...that's a funny joke, V. But you're forgetting, I'm the prankster here."

"I'm not joking, Saeyoung." Seven jolted in his seat and would have thrown Yoosung off his legs had he been lighter.

"Luciel!"

"S-stop!" His voice felt unnaturally raw.

"I don't understand...You told us she was.."

"I know, I was trying to help her, protect her even. It didn't work." V pressed a hand against his face as he shielded his gaze from the room's other occupants.

"Somewhere along the line...Rika stopped being the woman I had fallen in love with. I did everything I could to keep her safe, but she took everything I gave her and rejected it, rejected _me_."

Looking up, Seven realized that V's eyes were pale, much paler than normal.

"V...your eyes.." Said man gave him a gentle smile.

"Yes, my eyes. Rika always said she loved my eyes...until she did her best to rid me of them. Right now I can barely see any of you, and it wasn't for Jumin, I wouldn't have been able to even dress myself this morning." Although the words themselves were humorless, he said them as if he was glad.

"There is no way for me to completely make up for all the damage I have done to the RFA on Rika's orders, but I promise I will do my best to be the leader that you all thought I was from now on. It won't fix everything, but I am hoping that with time, we can all make this organization into what we all wished it could be in the future." Everyone seemed on the verge of tears, but Seven could sense the tremors currently wracking through the boy in his lap.

"W-what..what happened to Rika? Is she alive? Where did she go!?" Yoosung's voice was full of emotion, what kind, Seven didn't know. He tried giving his boyfriend a comforting squeeze as they waited for V's answer.

"Rika decided to start a new organization someplace else. As for where? I do not know. I broke ties with them some months ago when they approached me in an attempt to get me to convince the rest of you to join them."

Seven swallowed hard. There was something...someone he was supposed to remember. Someone he'd made a promise to.

"V...V if Rika really is how you said, then what happened to him..?"

"What happened to who?"

"My..my brother..My brother! What happened to Saeran!?"

✧ Day 11 - 09:47 AM ✧

 _POV: ZEN Mode_

Everyone had gone still and silent at Seven's outburst. A brother? He had a brother?

"You and Rika... you were supposed to look after him! I trusted you two! What happened to him!?" V looked startled, and Seven was clutching at Yoosung so tightly that it looked like the younger man was going to pass out.

"V, what the heck did you do to them?" Zen felt like he was going to be sick. He might not have had the best relationship with his brother, but if what V had said about Rika was true, then he wouldn't have wanted any member of his family to be trapped in the woman's care for any amount of time.

"I didn't...She told me that she had given him a brand new purpose in life. I assumed that meant she'd given him a new identity and sent him to live elsewhere."

"You didn't even think to check on him!?" Yoosung was now trying to pry Seven's arms away from his torso before he was snapped in half.

"Saeyoung, I'm-"

"No! Don't call me that!" Seven let Yoosung slip off of his lap and Zen automatically beckoned the blond over to take shelter next to him and Jaehee.

"You promised you'd watch over him! I trusted you both to look after my twin and now you don't even know if he's alive! For all I know, he might be dead!"

Zen felt Yoosung slip under his arm, shaking like a leaf. Jaehee was statue-still at his side, her expression unreadable. Jumin was in a similar state, but his arms, which had been folded across his chest, were shaking almost imperceptibly. V's near milky eyes were blown wide with uncertainty.

Everyone watched as Seven grabbed his jacket off the back of the chair he'd been sitting on before disappearing through the door to his garage. Yoosung tried to follow but Zen grabbed him by the wrist before he could get too far.

"No, you definitely don't want to follow him when he's in a mood like this. He's almost as dangerous as Jaehee when he's mad." The woman at his side gave a huff before she set a hand on Yoosung's shoulder as a comforting gesture.

"Give him some time to cool down, Yoosung." The boy looked like he wanted to disobey at first but then withdrew, his eyes swimming with pain.

"Okay, everyone... This hurts, it really does.." The remaining people in the room focused their eyes on him.

"V, I'm disappointed in you for not telling us this earlier, but what's done is done, and we can't do anything about it now. So let's all get ready for the party."

He reached to the side and wrapped his hand around Jaehee's who did her best to smile despite the circumstances.

"Zai... Zai put a lot of hard work into making sure that this party would be a success. So we have to do our best to honor her vision!" His statement was met with nods of agreement, and everyone got up to begin preparations.

"I'll go call the reporters we have on file for the press conference. I'm sure you'll still be wanting to make a statement on Echo Girl's claims?"

"Yeah." Zen let go of Jaehee so she could get dressed before looking in the direction where Seven had vanished.

"I'm gonna go check on Seven."

"I thought you said he was dangerous?"

Yoosung looked nervous, which was understandable considering that his boyfriend had nearly broken him in two a few seconds ago.

"Don't worry about me, I'm more than capable of handling him. You just go get dressed, 'kay?"

There was no time to wait for a confirmation from the blond as he started moving towards the garage. Thankfully he hadn't heard the squealing of tires or the roar of an engine, so he knew that Seven would at least still be in the building. As for what his mental state might be, that was another question entirely.

Opening the door as slowly as possible, Zen called out for his friend.

"Seven? ...Seven, you in here?" Stepping into the garage, he wasn't expecting to almost get hit in the head by a flying wrench.

"Dude what the- hey!" Dodging another projectile tool, Zen spotted Seven hunched over a toolbox, rapidly flinging objects in every direction.

"I get that you're upset but that's no reason to try and put me in a coma!" Zen rushed over to the redhead and grabbed at his wrists in order to prevent himself from sustaining any possible damage. However, when Zen moved to stop him from continuing his rampage, he didn't expect Seven to start crying.

"W-what? Come on man don't cry. I've had enough crying these past few hours to last me the next few years. Talk to me, Luciel..." Letting Seven's arms drop out of his grasp, he fell to his knees next to the younger man and set his hands on his shoulders instead. Seven's glasses were full of tears and for a moment, Zen wondered if he was out of his depth.

"Zen...I know you don't get along with your family...but if you had to leave in order to help them, would you have still done it?"

"Is this hypothetical or literal?"

"Just answer the question, Hyun." Well, if Seven was able to snark back at him then he must not be feeling _that_ bad.

"Ugh, I guess I'd leave. But then again, we're not talking about me, are we?" Seven bowed his head and remained silent.

The two of them sat on the cold concrete floor for a few minutes. Zen could feel his legs starting to cramp up from the position he was in, but he didn't want to move and risk startling Seven. At some point, he started worrying about whether or not he'd pushed too hard.

"My brother...I left him." Zen's eyes widened. He knew from Seven's outburst earlier that the two of them had needed to go separate ways, but he hadn't expected this.

"V and Rika promised me that he'd be taken care of if I went with them...Now I know that isn't true." Pulling up his knees and wrapping his arms around his legs, Seven withdrew into himself completely.

"Seven...Luciel...don't shut me out like this. For all you know, he's still out there waiting for you to come back."

"I know that! I feel terrible about it!" Tears were still flowing from his eyes, and Zen wished he'd thought to bring some tissues.

"I abandoned him and there wasn't even any time for me to explain why. He probably hates me, and I deserve it if what V said is true."

"No, you don't. Stop thinking that way. You can't blame yourself for everything that happened, you were a kid!" Zen shook Seven's shoulders as if that would emphasize his point more.

"I can see you giving up right now, and as soon as that happens you lose all chance of ever seeing your brother again!" He was shouting now. "Abandoning hope doesn't help anyone at all! Do you think it would've helped your brother? Is it helping you right now? Stop acting like the world revolves around you! Only you can choose your actions, and right now you're making some pretty stupid ones!"

Seven looked half stunned at Zen's words, but there was no sign of him stopping.

"Last night... Jaehee and I lost the girl we loved, but do you see us shutting down over it!? No! Because she would have wanted us to live, and she'd have wanted us to go to the party that she worked so hard to put together!" Zen tried to ignore the tightness in his chest as he thought about her.

"When the party is over, I'll probably feel even worse, because I know when I wake up in the morning, there won't be any messages from her on my phone, and I'll never hear her voice again," His voice was breaking. "But right now, I'm going to go out there, and I'm going to smile in front of all those people because it's what she'd have wanted me to do, and collapsing and wallowing in my own misery won't do anything."

Zen pulled his hands away did his best to stand on wobbly legs as he tried to regain his composure.

"You can stay here all day, Seven. Just know that it does nothing to help you find your brother or make amends for what happened." He started to move away when he felt a hand grab onto his.

"Zen?"

"Yes?"

"Thanks." Zen let out a huff before ruffling Seven's already messy hair.

"Don't mention it. You coming?"

"Yeah, yeah. Just give me a minute to clean all this up."

As Zen exited the garage, he could suddenly feel the previous day's events catching up with him.

"Zai..I hope you're proud of me..."

✧ Day 11 - 10:30 AM ✧

 _POV: V Mode_

It was an hour and a half until the party started. Despite all the bumps in the road they'd encountered that morning, everyone had been dressed and out the door by a quarter after ten and were now taking separate means of transportation to the venue where they'd be hosting the event. Jaehee was riding with Zen on his motorcycle, Yoosung was going with Seven in one of his sports cars, and V was once again staying with Jumin as Driver Kim chauffeured them to their destination.

V wondered if his revelations about Rika's true nature had been ill-timed in the wake of the tragedy that had occurred yesterday. Absently, he pondered on whether or not Zai had any living relatives, and how he was supposed to contact them and inform them of the unfortunate event. There wasn't even a body left for them to hold a funeral for.

"...Jihyun?" A voice snapped him out of his thoughts, and V turned his head to face in the general direction of his lover. The stress must have accelerated the deterioration of his sight because now he could barely see a thing beyond vague blobs of color that were starting to gray out at the edges.

"Yes, Jumin?" He knew that if he had his sight at the moment, he'd be seeing those familiar steel-gray eyes trying to decipher him from afar.

"You've been rather silent this whole time. Are you feeling well?"

"I'm fine, please don't worry."

"I'm not worrying." V gave a short sigh of amusement at the pouting tone before holding out his hand. He was rewarded with the sensation of soft fingers curling around his, and he took a moment just to appreciate the fact that Jumin was here with him.

"I love you..." The man sitting next to him froze, and V tried not to start laughing as he felt the tremors which suddenly overtook Jumin's body.

"Oh, I'm sorry, did I startle you?"

"No! I- ah, wait I just-" The back of the limousine was filled with breathless giggling as V listened to Jumin sputter.

"It's okay, Jumin, you don't have to say it right now."

"...But I want to."

"That's fine, just don't force it."

V exhaled gently at the feeling of lips against his neck and relaxed as a warm head of hair fell against his shoulder. Shifting to lean against Jumin's side, he closed his eyes and hummed.

"Thank you for staying with me."

"As if I'd be anywhere else."

✧ Day 11 - 11:00 AM ✧

 _POV: Jumin Mode_

Although they arrived a whole hour early, the venue was already packed with people waiting for the party to start. Upon noticing just how many were standing in line for entry, Jumin realized that he'd have to call for backup before the press and general public started showing up.

"Jumin? Are there a lot of people outside?" Oh, right, V's eyesight had taken a rapid downward turn after yesterday, and he probably couldn't see the volume of people that were currently swarming outside.

"That would be an understatement, I think..." Driver Kim was now having trouble navigating through the crowd.

"We might have to walk the rest of the way, do you think you can make it?"

"It's my eyes that don't work, Jumin, not my legs," A hand slipped into his and Jumin tried to keep his heartbeat from skyrocketing. "As long as you're guiding me, I'll be fine."

Jumin and V stepped out of the limousine and were immediately surrounded by several men and women in suits. Gently pulling V along, they finally made it through the throng of excited guests and into the building where the rest of the RFA members were waiting for them.

Yoosung was pressed against the window, looking out at the crowd with a look of awe on his face, while Zen, Jaehee, and Seven were situated around a table.

"There's so many people! I can't believe Zai managed to invite them all! I don't remember us giving her nearly this amount of recommendations!" His voice was tinged with both amazement and regret. Jumin thought back to all the potential guests he'd requested invites for. It couldn't have been more than two dozen at the most, and there were at least three hundred people waiting in line just outside.

"She did this all for us..." Jaehee's remark was so quiet that he almost missed it. They all turned to look at her and realized that only a fraction of the people here to attend the party had been suggested by the RFA. Zai had gone above and beyond and managed to gather all these people on her own in under _eleven days_.

"If I'm correct, then this party will have more attendees than both of Rika's parties combined," Zen let his head drop, and Jumin could see his shoulders quaking lightly. "She really meant it when she said she wanted this to be the best party ever." Once he looked back up, they could see the tears in the corners of his eyes, but there was a genuine smile on his face.

"Okay, everyone. Time to get this place set up!" Zen's words spurred everyone into action.

V couldn't help much with setting up tables or food due to his vision problems, but he'd brought his most recent collection of unreleased photos in order to make up for the fact that he hadn't been able to take any new ones. Jumin was surprised to see Yoosung helping him pick which ones to display. He would have intervened but it looked like the two of them were actually getting along just fine.

Letting out a sigh of relief, he pulled out his phone and called the party's security so he could ask them to start preparing the guests for entry. Afterward, he'd have to notify the reporters he'd chosen to attend the press conference.

As he watched the remaining members of the RFA flutter around the room putting everything in order, Jumin thought, for not the first time that day, if this was what it was like to be a part of a family.

✧ Day 11 - 8:56 PM ✧

 _POV: Yoosung Mode_

"Goodbye! Thank you for coming!" If he had to shake another hand, Yoosung's arm was going to fall off.

He'd been thanking guests for at least half an hour while everyone else was cleaning up the ballroom they'd rented for the party. Although his hand was getting really sore, Yoosung couldn't help but smile. The party had been a huge success. All of V's photos had sold, and there was plenty of money raised by the event that they could afford to make plenty of substantial donations to charity organizations throughout the country.

Yoosung had just finished waving farewell to the last guest when Zen came over to place a hand on his shoulder.

"We're all done here. Are you going back to Seven's place or do you need someone to drop you off?" Automatically wrapping his hands around his middle, Yoosung thought about whether or not he'd be going home with his boyfriend or not.

"I don't know..." Zen looked at him with concern.

"Well if you need a ride make sure you tell me, 'kay?" Yoosung got one more reassuring pat on his upper arm before Zen was walking over to Jaehee's side, their voices low.

Standing in silence for a few moments, he nearly screamed when he felt arms slide around his chest and a soft cheek against the back of his neck.

"Yooosuuuungg..." Turning around slightly, his vision was obscured by red hair.

"..Luciel? What is it? Are you drunk?" His response was met with gentle laughter.

"Heehee...no...but I kind of wish I was," Seven's breath was tickling his ear and it was taking all of his self-control not to shiver in the other boy's grasp. "I hurt you earlier...I'm sorry."

Yoosung leaned back so he could get his arms around Seven's waist.

"It's okay, we were all under a lot of stress at the moment. I forgive you." Seven let his hands fall to Yoosung's hips and smiled at the giggles he let out as he dotted the blond's neck with kisses.

"You're too good to me! But thank you," The two of them relaxed in the evening atmosphere for a while, just enjoying the other's company as the hype of the day winded down. "Do you still wanna come home with me?"

Yoosung spun around and pressed his lips to Seven's, stunning him as red flooded his cheeks.

"There's no place I'd rather be."

After Zen had finished speaking with Jaehee, he turned to ask if Yoosung still needed someone to take him back to his dorm. His face quickly flushed as he realized that the boy was currently preoccupied.

"Guess he doesn't need a ride home after all."


	25. Zai's Hidden Estate - Day 11 - Part 2

✧ Day 11 - 08:46 AM ✧

To say that Zai had an exhausting night would have been an understatement. Although she'd been rather well prepared for the break-in at Rika's apartment, everything that came afterward has rushed to the Nth degree.

First, she'd underestimated just how much work she had done that day, which resulted in her nearly passing out from hunger while driving. Then she'd decided to make an unplanned stop to get rid of her old phone by throwing it into a lake. In a moment of weakness, she'd saved both Zen and Jaehee's numbers into her new phone and watched as her old one shorted out before sinking out of sight.

After she arrived back at her aunt's former home, it was past midnight. Although it was so late, she was nearly tackled by an excitable Jamming, who Zai was extremely glad to see. While refilling his food and water dispensers, she tried not to think about the aftermath of her actions, but unfortunately, the result of her efforts was still passed out in the backseat of her car.

"What am I gonna do with you..." Zai let her fingers skim against a baby soft cheek as she considered her options. She had no idea how long ago it had been since he'd last drank water or eaten, and after he woke up he was going to have a killer headache. Plus, he couldn't stay in her car forever, but leaving him unsupervised and unsecured in the house wasn't something she wanted to do. Even if she'd taken all his weapons and electronics, she didn't want to risk the chance that he may run back to Mint Eye or whatever creepy organization he'd been working for.

Now she was finally returning after an extremely late (or was it extremely early?) grocery run to a convenience store that was at least an hour away by car. Zai wanted nothing more than to sleep for the rest of the day, but she had to put the food away first.

She was in the middle of organizing the vegetables in the fridge when Jamming came running into the room, barking incessantly.

"Hey...Hey!" Whistling sharply at him, Zai managed to stop him from carrying on with the loud noises, yet he simply traded in his 'shouts' for whimpers.

"C'mere, what's going on?" Kneeling on the hardwood floor, Zai felt teeth tugging gently at her sleeve as her dog pulled her in the direction of the living room.

"Oh, is our guest awake? Is that it?" Zai stood and brushed off her pants. She closed the fridge door and tossed the remaining produce onto the counter to use for the day before following Jamming into the house's large living space.

As expected, Unknown was currently stirring, letting out little groans of discomfort as he pulled against the restraints that Zai had hastily set up before leaving the house. Both his wrists and ankles had been tied to the couch in order to prevent him from sitting up. This arrangement was supposed to be temporary until Zai could think of something better, but it looked like she wasn't going to get the chance.

Rushing back to the kitchen, she grabbed a glass of water plus two pain-killers and set them down on the little end table next to the sofa. Jamming had sensed the tension in the air and had fled the house entirely in favor of running around outside, for which Zai was thankful for. The last thing she needed was for Unknown to possibly have an intense phobia of dogs or to be as allergic to them as Zen was to cats.

Zai froze as she watched the pale haired man on her sofa jerk erratically for a few moments before his eyes snapped open and immediately unfocused as his disoriented brain tried to align itself with his surroundings. As soon as he was coherent enough to realize that his hands and legs were tied down, he pulled on the rope hard enough for the piece of furniture to slide abruptly even though there were two people sitting on top of it.

"W-whoa! Calm down!" All but jumping off the cushions, Zai spun around to grasp the sides of his face so that he could lock his gaze with hers.

"Y-you!" His snarl was vicious but she refused to falter.

"Yeah, me. Stop thrashing around for a second," She grabbed the glass of water off the table and held it up to his lips. "Drink. You sound awful." He glared at her but submitted to downing at least half of the liquid in the cup or risk having it spill all over himself.

"There, now isn't that better?"

"What have you done with me!? Where is my Savior!?" He looked on the verge of hysterics and somewhere in the back of Zai's mind, a little voice was questioning whether or not this plan was _really_ thought out.

"I have no idea who your savior is, but I can promise you that they're not here."

He seized at her words and immediately started shaking. Looking down at the trembling boy on her sofa, Zai wondered if such a person could really be the same individual who had tried to kidnap her on multiple occasions.

"W-why? Why!? You've ruined everything! Nothing will ever be the same again and it's all your fault!" He was only a little ways off from screaming and Zai knew that he really shouldn't be riling himself up so much when he'd only just woken up from a blunt-force-trauma related mini-coma. Sighing, she placed the back of her hand against his forehead, causing him to freeze out of surprise.

"Are you feeling okay? Any pain? Dizziness? Hungry? Thirsty?" Zai rattled off a list of things she thought would be important to ask after sustaining some sort of injury. She didn't know if he had super healing capabilities like Zen, but it was better safe than sorry.

"What are you talking about? You're probably just trying to lower my guard down so I'll trust you!"

"If you haven't noticed, I don't really need you to trust me right now. You're kind of stuck to my couch, and believe it or not, I'd actually like to sit on it sometime without worrying about if you'll try to attack me when I do." It had been a while since she'd been able to really show this side of her. Inviting party guests required a delicate hand, but it was nice to be able to snark without being openly reprimanded for it.

"I don't understand...why did you bring me here? If you're planning on torturing me so I'll give up Mint Eye's secrets it won't wo-" Zai cut off his rant when she shoved the pills into his mouth and held his nose. He gagged for a moment but swallowed on reflex.

"What did you just give me!?" Stepping back so he couldn't bite her or anything, she settled her best neutral look at him.

"Pain medication. I can see you wincing every time you move, stop trying to be a tough guy. I'm not untying you until you prove that I can leave you alone and not be in danger of getting stabbed or something." She only got a tired glare in response.

"Anyways, you didn't answer my question. Are you hungry? Do you need more water? Work with me here." It seemed that his expression was stuck on the 'disbelief' setting. "Come on, don't tell me I have to feed you. There are other things I'd rather be doing with my time." His face turned an impressive shade of red as soon as she suggested feeding him, but he quickly shook his head in disagreement.

"How do you know I won't just run away if you let me go?"

"Considering that my house is literally in the middle of nowhere, and I've already hidden all the electronics in the house, I'm not too worried about it," She gave him a slow smirk. "We're three hours from any sort of civilization by car, and that's with GPS since there are no roads out here. But by all means, please, start walking if you think that you can reach Mint Eye, or even a telephone, without starving or getting so dehydrated that you can't keep going."

Zai watched his face as he ran through all the possibilities in his mind. As it went on, she could see the lingering hope of escape slowly start to dwindle from his eyes. She would have stayed to continue watching him try to come up with ways to get out of the situation he was currently trapped in, but she wasn't lying when she said that she had better things to do.

"Well then, I'm starving and exhausted. So I'm gonna go make myself dinner-breakfast and crash. Just shout if you need anything, I'll hear you...probably." Straightening up, she turned around to the kitchen so she could finally cook herself something to eat.

If Zai had looked back at that moment, she would've seen Unknown with the most terrified expression ever made on his face.

* * *

Some time later, a full, but even more tired, Zai made her way back to Unknown's side with a plate of fried rice and mixed vegetables. The situation would have been fine if it wasn't for the fact that Zai was more than halfway to unconsciousness, and her 'houseguest' couldn't feed himself.

The entire ordeal was awkward. Zai would try to get the food past his lips but would end up accidentally stabbing him in the cheek or someplace else, plus whatever he didn't catch in his mouth fell onto his clothes instead. Unfortunately, Zai was too far gone to care. After some time, she stopped completely, but only because her exhaustion had worn her out to the point of unconsciousness. She'd gone nearly a whole twenty-four hours without sleep and had used up her last dredges of energy.

Unknown watched as the plate fell from her hands to the floor, and tried not to squirm as she settled in against the arm of the sofa, her legs splayed out in his lap, one of them hanging off his knees.

 _Dear Savior please save me from this._


	26. The Precipice - Day 11 - Part 3

✧ Day 11 - 09:17 PM ✧

Zai awoke with a gasp which quickly turned into a half-aborted cough when she realized just where she was. Currently, she was half in Unknown's lap, half on the sofa. Her housemate was fast asleep somehow, and Zai winced inwardly when she realized just how badly his neck would be hurting when he woke up. When she looked up at the sky, it was dark. Darker than it normally was when in the middle of the forest, which meant it was night time. Grimacing, she slowly climbed off of the pale-haired man and got to work untying his arms and legs. She'd proven just a day ago that she could drag him across several blocks, so carrying him up to the house's guest bedroom should be a piece of cake.

Although it took more time than she'd have liked, she finally got him into bed. Pulling out her new phone, she set a reminder for herself to get him new clothes tomorrow. Even though she'd set the restraints on the sofa to make sure that untying himself would be impossible, Unknown had still managed to keep himself from strangling her in her sleep, so she counted that as a win. Moving back to clean up the disaster that was dinner off of the furniture and floor, she wondered if it was worth it to take a shower before waiting to see if all her efforts for the past eleven days were worth it.

She decided that she might as well indulge herself before then. It wouldn't matter after midnight anyways.

* * *

It was at least half past eleven when Zai was pulled out of her reverie by the sound of soft footfalls. She'd been purposely avoiding the clocks with her eyes, Jamming was lying across her abdomen while she was stretched out along the length of the sofa. She stopped the absentminded petting of her dog (prompting a quiet whine from said dog) as she craned her head upwards to see a confused and sleepy Unknown looking down at her.

"..You have a dog?" The innocuous question threw her for a loop, and it took her a second to respond.

"Yeah, his name is Jamming. You wanna pet him?" Instead of responding to her query, he pushed her legs further back against the cushions and sat down on the couch before resting his hand against Jamming's soft coat and giving the dog's back slow, methodic strokes.

The three of them sat in silence as the midnight hour approached. Zai tried not to think about what she'd do if the loop reset in the next few minutes. The past eleven days had been more emotionally charged than before, and Zai didn't know if she had it in her to repeat this cycle again.

Slowly, she directed her gaze over to Unknown, who hadn't stopped petting Jamming since he sat down. Focusing her thoughts back to a previous conversation, Zai considered the man next to her and decided to go out on a limb.

"So...do you think I'll have to do this again?" The hand stroking Jamming froze momentarily before returning to its steady rhythm, fingers gently combing through the dark curls of fur.

"I don't know..."

"Then you remember all the other times?" Even if this night continued onward, Zai still wanted to know more about the person currently inhabiting this space with her. After all, she'd never had an opportunity like this before.

"Bits and pieces...They're more like flashes if anything. Why does it matter?" His voice was devoid of all emotion, and Zai found herself somewhat craving the sweet, slightly scary tone that he normally spoke in whenever he was around her.

"Even if this attempt doesn't work, I still want to help everyone," Sighing, she folded her arms behind her head. "You included."

Unknown stared at her with stunned silence, and Zai wondered if she'd said something wrong.

"...Why would you want to save me? I don't need you. I already have a great Savior." There was that defensive voice again.

"I'm sure she's done a lot for you. That's why your only job is to manipulate me into doing all the dirty work, while you hang back in the sidelines waiting for your moment to strike. What a truly blissful existence that must be."

It seemed like she'd stumped him for words. Part of her was glad for it too, considering she really didn't want to deal with one of his rants about the greatness of Mint Eye when she was waiting to see whether or not she'd be reliving the previous eleven days once more.

"At least she's had an impact on my life! Nothing you've ever done has amounted to everything!" He'd removed his hand from Jamming's fur, causing the dog to let out a louder whine than before and crawl off of Zai's stomach to pad outside and away from the tense atmosphere. Raising herself up, Zai pulled her legs close to her chest and leveled an intense look at the boy sitting across from her.

"Listen, I don't care if I have to redo these same two weeks over and over for the rest of my life. I had a bunch of mistakes before and...and I regret them. A lot. I hurt Zen and Jaehee and Yoosung and Seven and even Jumin and it didn't feel good at all. " Balling her hands into fists, she tried to hold in the tears which were starting to rapidly form in her eyes. "But I love them all so much, okay? So if I can make them happy...even if it's just for eleven days, and even if they forget everything...forget me...I'll be glad, because, for that small amount of time, they were happy."

Wiping her face with the back of a fleece sleeve, she couldn't see the stunned expression on his face as his eyes locked onto the clock behind her.

"It's...it's past..."

"...What?"

Raising a shaky arm, he pointed at the time-telling mechanism on the wall. Zai spun to look and felt the air rush out of her lungs as she realized just was she was seeing.

 _Twelve O' One AM._

It didn't register immediately. She couldn't feel the warm tears making their way down her face as sobs wracked her body as her mind whirled in a constant circle of 'it's Over over _overoverover_ '.

"I...I did it."

Clutching at her plush robe almost tight enough to tear the fabric, Zai whipped her head around to see Unknown's reaction. He looked like he was going to be sick, which was then punctuated by him jerking forward and pressing his hands over his mouth.

All but leaping off the sofa, she rushed to the kitchen and grabbed a bucket from under the sink just in time for him to empty the meager contents of his stomach into it. As she sat there, calmly massaging his back while he trembled through the aftershocks, there were two thoughts on her mind. The first was that finally, she'd never have to relive those eleven days again.

The second was, "Everything is going to get better from here on out."

Unknown heaved into the bucket once more and Zai grimaced.

"Well, maybe not immediately," Once it seemed like he'd ran out of material to expel, she tugged him upwards by the arm until he could lean on her.

"Come on tough guy, let's get you cleaned up."

She got a tired groan in response.


	27. Post-Party - Day 12 - Part 1

❤︎ Day 12 - 07:34 AM ❤︎

 _POV: Saeran Mode_

Saeran was having a bad day.

First, he'd gotten knocked out during his attempt to retrieve his Savior's chosen one from her former dwelling. Then he'd woken up in an unfamiliar building in the middle of nowhere while restrained to a couch, with the girl he was supposed to bring back with him saying that there was no way for him to get back to Mint Eye. Later, he had fallen asleep after his captor had tried to feed him (very badly), before waking up in what might have been the softest bed ever.

He then traveled back to the place of his former captivity only to see his jailer with a dog lying on top of her. They talked about resets and..remembering..before Saeran had noticed the time on the wall and _everything had gone downhill so fast in such a short period of time_.

He'd been sick for almost ten hours now. He was so tired he could barely move, and although he'd never admit it, part of him was thankful that the woman keeping him here was kind enough to make sure he didn't die in her care. She was running back and forth to try and find some way to get him to stop throwing up every time he attempted to eat something. If he wasn't feeling so awful at the moment, he might have even laughed at how concerned she was.

When he asked her why she was so worried about his health, she simply said something about 'not letting him down this time' before dashing away to find her laptop so she could research remedies to whatever it was he was ailing from. After trying several different methods that failed to work, she started panicking.

"Is there anything you can think of that would cause you to start feeling this way? Cause so far the symptoms aren't matching up with anything I've looked up so far." She'd moved him back to the bedroom upstairs a while ago, and was currently sitting next to him with her laptop resting on top of her thighs, emergency bucket to the side just in case of any more incidents. Saeran opened his eyes and waited for the room to stop spinning before replying.

"I used- I had to take medicine when I was at Mint Eye." She shot him a look of confusion.

"Why? You seemed perfectly healthy up until now." Of course she wouldn't understand.

"The Savior made it for me," He briefly let an expression of pride flash across his face. "I was weak before, but she helped me to get stronger." His triumphant smirk vanished when she placed the back of her hand against his forehead.

"No fever..so it can't be any sort of illness. If it was food poisoning I'd have gotten sick too since we ate the same thing..." She sighed with disappointment before setting her laptop aside. "How often did you need the medication when you were at your weird religious cult place?" Saeran glared at her but refrained from snapping only because he was tired and his throat was raw, so he answered the question.

"Every day." He didn't understand why she needed to kno-

"Every day!?" His thoughts were interrupted when she shot up off of the bed and spun around to face him. "My goodness, I don't know how I didn't see it before." Her eyes were full of pain, and he'd be lying if he said he wasn't worried about what her reaction meant for him. However, if he was expecting anything, it wasn't the sudden sensation of arms wrapping themselves around his middle and hair tickling his cheek as his captor pulled him into a one-sided hug.

"I'm s-sorry! I'm so sorry!" Now she was crying and Saeran was both confused and startled at her sudden change in attitude. "I should've tried harder to help you but- I didn't know! I wish I'd known!" The next moment she was withdrawing and looking at him with tears pouring down her face.

"I'm going to make this right, I promise. Just stay here and try not to move a lot. There's a glass of water on the side table in case you get thirsty. I'll try to be back before noon!" Then she was running out the door, hair flying as she sped towards her car.

Her shout of ' _Look after him, Jamming!_ ' echoed through the house before the soft roar of an engine came from outside and drifted away. After a few minutes, he could hear the soft jingling of a dog's collar approaching his room, and it wasn't long before a large black mass of fur came around to climb on top of the bed covers and curl up beneath his hand, which immediately started petting the soft curls.

"...You wouldn't happen to know why she was so frantic, would you?" His question only got him a soft woof in response.

"Hah..didn't think so."

* * *

She didn't return until a little after one, her arms laden with bags, and with a mug full of tea in each hand. He'd been asleep, but the sound of the door slamming against the wall jolted him awake and brought the nauseous feeling to the forefront of his mind. He squeezed his eyes shut and focused on taking deep breaths while the sound of rustling plastic permeated the room.

"I'm back! I know what's wrong with you now but I didn't know which one of these would help the most so I just got everything," She looked over the silent boy lying beneath her sheets. "Was everything okay while I was gone? Did you finish your water?" He'd finished the glass on the table shortly after she left, but he was too tired to get up to refill the cup, opting to just sleep instead. As soon as she mentioned it, he could feel the dryness in the back of his throat and he coughed.

"Oh no, you're not coming down with a cold now too, are you? I can't take you to the hospital like this." She set the bags on the floor before carefully maneuvering the handles around the mugs and offering him one. Saeran reached over and accepted the cup before taking a long draught. It was slightly bitter, yet thankfully only just on the tolerable side of hot.

"Why are you so worried anyway? I t-tried to kidnap you...and we both know that wasn't the first time..." He tried to focus his eyes on the tiny flecks of leaves sitting at the bottom of the mug. "You can't be doing this for no reason. What is it that you want from me?" Looking up, he tried his best to glare at her but faltered once he noticed the somber expression on her face. She was staring at her lap, but a few seconds after he finished speaking, she slowly turned to lock eyes with him.

"I've been so selfish...all this time. I never thought about your place in all this until you sent me that message nine days ago." As the tears started flowing from her eyes, Saeran noted that this was the second time in less than twenty-four hours that he'd been witness to this girl crying. Except this time, she was crying over him and not the RFA. He didn't know what to think about that.

"For every eleven days I've lived in that apartment, I never thought about your situation." Saeran felt a tightness in his chest at her words. He didn't, couldn't understand why this girl cared so much about him. She was someone who, by all rights, should be a complete stranger to him, except _she wasn't_ and they both _knew_ that. "I don't think I even considered the fact that...you might need me as much as they needed me." She wiped her tears away with the heel of her palm before giving him a watery smile.

"I want to start over with you...please." He didn't know how to react to this situation, but then she was holding out her hand to him like an offering, a look of hopefulness in her eyes. "My name is Zai, and I want to get to know you."

His eyes drifted from her face to the hand in front of him. Maybe it was the fact that she'd somehow gone through all the effort to getting him here, or that after he got sick, she had gone and bought anything and everything she thought he'd need to get better, but for some reason, he wanted to learn more about the girl in front of him. He wanted to understand her with words instead of reading through a printed and packaged file. He wanted to know her as a person.

Stretching out his arm, he wrapped his hand around hers and marveled at how soft it was.

"My name..is Saeran Choi, and I..want to get to know you too."

Maybe, just maybe, staying in this place wouldn't be so bad.


	28. Post-Party - Day 12 - Part 2

❤︎ Day 12 - 02:47 PM ❤︎

 _POV: Jumin Mode_

After oversleeping nearly an extra hour, which resulted in him being late for his own meeting, Jumin new that things were going to difficult to adjust to from thereon out. V had taken up semi-permanent residence with him once Jumin convinced him that it would be better to stay until he was able to get the surgery required to fix his eyes. However, as of the past day or so, Jaehee and V had been avoiding each other completely.

 _Well, I suppose it's more like V avoiding Jaehee while she makes vague threats about his livelihood whenever she is in the RFA chatroom._ Jumin grimaced as he thought about his former chief secretary. Jaehee had started working on getting her lease approved with Zen's help after the successful press conference held at the party. Both him and Zen had their reputations restored, much to the chagrin of Echo Girl, whose temper tantrums got her kicked off of more productions than Zen had been turned away from.

Unfortunately, with the tragic happening at Rika's apartment, both Zen and Jaehee had withdrawn into each other, with Jaehee having apparently moved out of her apartment that morning to share Zen's living space. Jumin couldn't say that he supported to two of them staying together, but he supposed that it was only right that the two be able to comfort one another in the aftermath of losing the woman who had been so important to him both.

When he returned to his suite, he was greeted by a purring Elizabeth the 3rd. The day V had arrived at his home had distracted Jumin so much that he'd even forgotten to spend time with his cat, a true testament to how much he loved the other man.

"Hello my beautiful. You have been fed today, right?" He stroked her back and gave her a gentle scratch behind the ears when a soft voice permeated the atmosphere.

"She's eaten so much in the past day that for a moment I thought she was going to have kittens and make you a cat-grandpa." Tearing his eyes away from his gorgeous cat, Jumin was rewarded with the amazing sight of V leaning against his kitchen counter, face turned slightly in his direction.

"You're out of bed. Are you okay? Do you need anything?" He approached his lover with slightly shaky arms and watched as V covered his mouth with a hand to stifle his laughter. "Jihyun please, I just want to make sure you are okay."

"I'm fine, Jumin. Stop worrying so much." The smile on V's face pulled the air right out of his lungs.

"I apologize, I cannot help it when it comes to you." Letting his arms rest agains V's waist, he allowed their foreheads to connect as he relaxed, soaking in V's presence. The two men simply stood in the kitchen, embracing lightly while Elizabeth the 3rd twined around their legs, purring all the while. Somewhere in the back of his mind, Jumin wondered how and why he had projected his feelings for V onto Rika. Another part of him simply said that it was due to his upbringing. The rest of him agreed.

"Has Jaehee calmed down at all?" V's question was practically whispered against his ear as Jumin pulled the other man into his space even closer.

"It is unlikely. She seems bent on blaming you for Zai's death personally, even though there was nothing you could have done to prevent what happened." He felt V's glasses digging into his collarbone and Jumin buried his nose in soft hair as he breathed in the scent of mild shampoo still clinging to cerulean locks. "You know that it isn't your fault, right? You had nothing to do with it." The arms currently wrapped around his chest tightened almost imperceptibly.

"We both know that isn't true. I was the one who agreed to the installation of the bomb. I should've said no when Rika first brought the idea up." V inhaled harshly as he clutched at Jumin like a lifeline. "Even if I couldn't stop it from going off, I am the one responsible for the bomb being there in the first place." Jumin did his best not to follow his instincts and try to look V in the eyes, it wasn't like he could see him in his current state. Instead, he let his hands fall to the other man's waist so he could dip him slightly and press their lips together. When they finally separated, V's face was flushed and his glasses were knocked askew, giving Jumin a view of his faded blue eyes.

"Who was it that requested for the bomb to be placed in the apartment complex in the first place?" The unspoken answer hung heavy between the two of them. Jumin untangled himself from V's grasp and started pulling him out of the kitchen. "In any case, there is nothing we can do about it now. Instead of dwelling on what could have been, you can help me come up with a way to get Jaehee from being so cross with you."

His words got a laugh out of V and Jumin could feel the warmth blossoming in his chest as he directed his lover towards his- _their_ bedroom.

"Of course dear, just promise me you won't try to solve this problem by throwing money at it." For once in his life, Jumin was glad that V couldn't see the blush on his face.

❤︎ Day 12 - 04:16 PM ❤︎

 _POV: ZEN Mode_

It had taken them most of the day, but he and Jaehee had finally finished unpacking all of her things and setting them up into his apartment. In reality, Jaehee didn't have that much to unpack in the first place, but their work was constantly interrupted by calls either from people looking to cast Zen in their new productions, or from the different associates that Jaehee was working with in order to make her cafe dream a reality. The two of them didn't have much except each other, and even though Zen's popularity wasn't as large as most other actors, he still promised that he would support Jaehee in all of her pursuits.

A few minutes ago, Jaehee had left the room to retrieve the papers she'd already procured for ownership of the building that the cafe would be built in. Zen was relaxing against the kitchen counter with a can of beer while waiting for her to get back when he noticed her phone next to him. Normally he would have ignored it, but the screen had lit up with a text notification, giving him a perfect view of her lock screen. When Jaehee returned, it was to the sight of Zen focusing all of his attention on her phone.

"...Zen?" In any other situation, her words may have startled him, but as it was, his eyes remained on her device as he spoke.

"This picture...it's from when you two first met, right?" When he looked up, he could see the pain and understanding in her gaze as she realized just what he was observing.

"Yes. It's one of the few I have." She walked over to his side and Zen could feel the warmth from her body as she placed a hand on his arm. The picture on the screen was the selfie that Jaehee and Zai had taken after their coincidental meeting at the cafe near Rika's apartment, nearly two weeks ago. Zen froze as he registered the soft hiccuping coming from the woman standing next to him. She wasn't crying, but he could tell that she was close to that point. Hastily setting the phone face-down on the counter, he pulled Jaehee into his arms as she buried her face into his chest.

"It's only been two days, but I feel like we're betraying her somehow...by carrying on like this." Zen thought about how the RFA had mostly returned to normal after the explosion at the apartment. They'd lost Zai, but after the explosion and the party, it had seemed like everyone was ignoring what had happened. "Don't you think she would have wanted us to mourn?"

Zen thought back to the all the times he'd spent with Zai and Jaehee. He remembered how she'd encouraged them to pursue their dreams, and how she'd done her best to lift them up even when their spirits were low. The girl who had shone so brightly wouldn't have wanted them to waste their time and potential suffering over her memory. She'd have wanted them to remember her and move on, to live their lives to the fullest.

"Call me selfish...but I don't think so." He moved Jaehee back slightly so he could look into her eyes. "Zai always did her best to keep us going. I don't think she would have liked it if we stopped now and focused only on regrets when she worked so hard to convince us of our worth. Don't you agree?" Zen held his breath as he watched her think it over.

"I- you may be right," She sniffed and wiped away the just-forming tears from her eyes. "That doesn't mean I don't miss her though. We were only together for such a short time, but it feels like I've known her forever." Zen swallowed hard as the memory of him sending Zai a similarly-worded text floated through is head.

"Yeah, I know how you feel..."

❤︎ Day 12 - 05:53 PM ❤︎

 _POV: Yoosung Mode_

After he and Seven had returned to Seven's house, Yoosung was filled with dismay as his boyfriend made a beeline for his room, barricading himself inside with his soda and chips. Yoosung sighed as he considered the locked door in front of him. He thought that he and Seven were making progress, but now he was being shut out again. He'd spent all day cleaning the house, an act he normally avoided like the plague, even though Seven apparently had a maid who came to clean several times a week. Now he was devising ways to get Seven to let him in.

Knocking on the door hadn't worked, and throwing things at it was no help either. Sitting outside of it and calling out Seven's name did nothing. Threatening to eat all the chips he'd left outside had almost worked, but no luck there either. At this point, Yoosung was getting worried, as he hadn't heard anything from Seven for a long time. He was even absent from the RFA chat, which did nothing to soothe his nerves at all. He'd run out of ideas and was now considering calling Seven's phone even though the two of them were in the same house.

"Luciel! When are you going to stop pushing me away!?" Yoosung tapped on the door with his fist for the seventh time in the last ten minutes. "Seveeeen!" If his boyfriend didn't let him into the room soon, Yoosung felt like he might cry. He leaned back against the wooden surface before sliding down to rest on the floor.

"If you really didn't want me around you could've just said so! I should call Zen and ask him if he can take me back home," He raised his voice slightly. "Because my own Boyfriend doesn't want me to comfort him in his time of need!" Yoosung might have been acting a bit petty at the moment, but he didn't care. Seven was being self-centered, trying to focus all the blame on himself again. He just wanted to wallow in his own misery and ignore the outside world. Looking down at his phone, he grimaced. Was that how he acted after Rika had died? He'd become so obsessed with video games and sometimes schoolwork, but he'd avoided his real life like the plague, preferring to live in his own tiny, sheltered dorm room, alone. Maybe this was his punishment for being so clingy and focused on his cousin.

Falling back into silence, Yoosung pulled up Zen's contact and was about to start typing a request for him to come pick him up when the door behind him opened and he fell flat on his back.

"Oof! Wh- Luciel!" As he looked up, he caught a glimpse of Seven before the other boy walked back over to his bed and crawled under the covers. The floor was littered with empty chip backs and soda cans. Yoosung tried to hold in his disgust as he wondered how many of these had been consumed that day, before making his way across the sugar and salt covered room to the bed where his boyfriend was hiding. "Seven...Luciel..Talk to me? Please?" Upon not getting a response from the lump beneath the blankets, he huffed and pulled back on the covers just enough to give himself some space to crawl under with him. Once beneath the small mountain of sheets, he quickly found Seven curled into a ball, phone held close to his chest. Reaching over to tug on his shoulder, Yoosung tried to elicit a response out of him.

"Yoosung...you should go home." Curling up even tighter, Seven rolled over so his back was facing him. "You shouldn't be near me anymore." Ignoring how his heart ached at those words, Yoosung decided to climb over Seven instead, forcibly crawling into the other boy's arms and surprising him by plucking the glasses off his face and sticking his hand out from beneath the blankets to set them on the nightstand near the bed.

"Luciel you're so smart but sometimes you're a huge idiot." He felt the surprisingly toned muscles of Seven's arms tense around him at his words but paid no mind as he brought himself further and further into his space. He didn't stop until his cheek was touching Seven's chest and he could sense his strong, yet slightly erratic, heartbeat through his dark gray tank top. "You don't have to suffer alone you know. I'm here, and so is everyone else. I don't understand why you won't let us in."

Seven's hands moved from where they'd been tightly wrapped around his phone to surround Yoosung instead, settling on his hips as his body shifted to curl around the smaller boy. Yoosung tried not to giggle as he felt Seven's hair brush against his nose, but there was a definite flush on his face the moment soft lips made contact with his neck before quickly pulling away.

"I'm dangerous to be around, Yoosung..." Yoosung was harshly jerked back into reality as he registered Seven's words and tone. He had never once sounded so defeated as he did now. "I'm dangerous and a failure and I couldn't- I didn't save her!" A rough sob tore its way out of Seven's throat as he started crying into Yoosung's chest, head bowed and shoulders shaking with the effort of keeping himself in control.

"I had the chance to get her out, and I didn't take it! I believed her...I believed her! She said she'd be fine! Why did I listen when I knew she didn't have any control over the situation!? I should've sent Zen I should've gone myself! I should've done literally anything except just sit and wait like she told me to!" Yoosung's heart broke as he listened to his boyfriend rant about all the things that could have been done differently. It was a harsh reminder that Zai was _gone_ , but he couldn't let Seven keep hurting himself like this.

"Luciel...Luciel stop it! There was nothing you could do to prevent what happened!" He brought his hands up to Seven's cheeks and pulled their heads together, foreheads and noses touching. "That entire day...Zai had been acting weird. I think she..I think she wanted it. She wanted the apartment to explode, for whatever reason. She told you to keep Zen away...and there was that whole thing with Jumin and V!" Yoosung let his hands fall away from Seven's face to wrap around his torso instead.

"It hurts to think about, but Zai...did everything possible to make sure that none of us could reach her in time when we all realized it was too late." Thinking back to his cousin, he remembered how he hadn't noticed the signs until it was too late, and then V had told them that everything they'd once known about Rika was a lie. "I don't want you to hurt yourself thinking that there was anything you, or us, could have done to save her when she already decided she didn't want saving." Yoosung tightened his grip as Seven stilled in his grasp, contemplating.

"Haha...maybe you're right...but she's still gone."

"I know, and I'm in pain too, but that doesn't mean you should push me away." Craning his neck upward, Yoosung pressed his lips against Seven's. He could taste the remnants of the chips and soda, but also the salt from his boyfriend's tears. His chest ached with sorrow. "I love you, so please, let me help."

The two of them lay in silence for several minutes, neither of them relaxing their hold on the other until Seven finally spoke.

"Haah..I guess you've got me beat again, cutie." He sounded tired but much less upset than before. "I needed that, thank you for staying with me." Seven kissed Yoosung again, and again, and one more time for good measure, before finally rolling back the sheets and pulling the other boy up with him.

"Help me tidy up?" Looking up at his boyfriend's ruffled hair and tear-marked face, Yoosung let a smile grace his face before lacing their fingers together and tugging him towards the bathroom.

"Only if you let me clean you up first!"

❤︎ Day 12 - 08:22 PM ❤︎

 _POV: Saeran Mode_

Zai and Saeran were currently in the middle of dinner after having spent most of the day just talking about their lives. Zai had been making sure that he was taking in plenty of fluids throughout the whole day. At any other time, he might have been upset at being stuck in one place, but at the moment he was just too exhausted to consider moving. They were drinking a light broth from mix-matched bowls because Zai, 'My aunts took all the dishes and cutlery with them!', had nothing else on hand. The girl was sitting next to him with her dog in her lap, one hand stroking his fur while the other held the rim of the bowl.

"So, you've told me about your mom, and your brother..Saeyoung, right?" Zai was an interesting person, he admitted. She wasn't patronizing when she asked him about his life, but she wasn't passive either. She asked questions, she wanted to take the time to know him instead of assuming what she wanted from what he'd told her. In turn, she'd admitted her many mistakes when it came to her attempts at helping the RFA. It felt...good, knowing that there was someone else out there who knew that they weren't perfect but still tried their best. It made Saeran's heart ache when he thought about what he'd done.

"Yes. Was there..anything else I missed?" It had taken a while, but she'd finally gotten his whole life story out of him with her wheedling. It might have been her knowledge of working with difficult people in order to convince them to attend the RFA's party, or simply her innate skill with getting people to open up to her, but he had acquiesced to her request after only a few hours of trying to avoid it.

"No, no, I'm just..." She reached over to set her bowl down before resting her hand on Jamming's head. "I feel terrible knowing what you've been through. I always saw you as some sort of outside force who was bent on ruining everything I worked so hard to build up." He didn't know what to make of her words, but his years of learning to hold back on his instincts were the only thing that kept him from jumping as she leaned over to grasp his hand in hers.

"I want to help you get better. But only if you want my help too." He regarded her wordlessly as he tried not to focus on how _warm_ she was.

"I don't understand... If you spend all your time helping me then..." He almost pulled his hand back but thought better of it. "Don't you...want to see them again?" They both knew what he was talking about. Zai had told him about her encounters with Zen and Jaehee, how the three of them had built up their relationship to the point where all three of them could be happy. Then he'd come into the picture and she had to leave them both to keep the RFA, and herself, safe. Zai's laugh was gentle. but he could hear the underlying sadness in it.

"Honestly...I don't know if I deserve to be with them anymore. I've fallen in love with them so many times, I've broken their hearts, I've hurt them..." Saeran tensed, he didn't want her to start crying again. "If I was them right now, I wouldn't forgive me for leaving. They probably think I wanted to die, with how I staged the explosion. It's better like this, It's better that I don't...that I don't...go back." She bowed her head and Saeran felt a tendril of guilt creep into his heart.

"They..loved you didn't they?" That was the one thing that confused him. He knew what love was, in theory. His Savior had said that she loved him, but had turned out to be just another person using him for her own personal gain. Zai said she loved both Zen and Jaehee, somehow. The idea intrigued him, and perhaps, some part of him wanted to know what it was like to feel that kind of genuine emotion too.

"Yeah, they did. I'd do anything for them. It's why I have to stay away. They can't live their lives if I'm around to distract them or lie to them because of the mistakes I've made. I hope someday they can forgive me." Her voice broke on that last statement, and Saeran really hoped that she wouldn't start crying again.

"Zai? P-please don't be upset..." Finally, he pulled his hand away, but only so he could hold her hand properly, his heart in his throat as he did so. "Even if, you can't be with them right now, I think that someday, you'll be back together, and until then," He set his bowl down and coughed into his other hand. "Y-you have me.."

"Really? Thank you, Saeran." When she smiled at him, he felt like his entire world got a little bit brighter. It was like looking at the sky.

❤︎ Day 12 - 10:13 PM ❤︎

 _POV: Jaehee Mode_

She and Zen had been wrapped up in each other for so long that she could no longer tell what time it was. She knew it was dark, but that was all her knowledge of the outside world at the moment. They had been in bed, arms and legs entwined, just taking in each other's space while they rested. It was only when Zen's phone rang that she felt him slowly untangle his arm from beneath hers to reach over and grasp for his phone.

"H-hello?" If she'd thought his voice was simply attractive before, then it was absolutely perfect when he was like this. "Jumin..? Why are you calling this late?" Ah, so it was her former boss contacting him. It probably had something to do with the cat commercial that Zen had decided to sign on for, despite his ability to take more jobs at this point. Paying it no mind, she let herself bury her face further against Zen's chest, her hair tickling his chin.

"Wait, wait, what? You and V did what? Tell me you're joking..." Unfortunately, it was not meant to be. Pulling back and sitting up slightly, she shot Zen a questioning look. Catching her gaze, he beckoned her closer before putting the phone on speaker. "Say that again, Jumin."

"I said that I contacted the landlord for the building that Jaehee wanted to use for her cafe, and I got him to agree to an immediate five-year lease, on the agreement that I take ownership of the rest of the building." Jaehee was stunned momentarily before she pulled the phone out of Zen's hand.

"Mr. Ha- Jumin. What is this about?" She couldn't keep herself from snapping. Just what was he thinking, meddling in her business like this?

"Oh, Jaehee, you're there too. You know how I feel about couples living together before marriage." Jaehee tried to shove down her contempt. She failed.

"You have a lot of nerve telling me this when you have been sleeping in the same bed as V for longer than Zen and I have even been in the same house. Now tell me what you did before I hang up." If she turned her head just a little, she would've seen Zen nearly in tears. He was holding a hand over his mouth to stifle his laughter, and clutching his stomach with the other.

"Ah, well, in exchange for our company remodeling parts of the building and using them for office and business space, the landlord will let you lease the space for the cafe for the next five years. I have also decided to fund your project, as I believe it will be a mutually beneficial agreement for the both of us." Forcing down her simmering anger so she could think, Jaehee realized what Jumin was trying to do.

"You...How much of this idea was V's?" She could hear shuffling on the other line, and a faint "Jumin please don't" before the phone was apparently passed off to her former boss' lover.

"I..hello, Jaehee. I know this might all come off quite rude, but Jumin is trying his best, and I am...attempting to make amends as well." She could feel Zen reaching over to place an arm around her waist. When she looked over to him, she could see the pride and love in his eyes as he nodded his head. He wanted her to listen. "Jaehee please understand when I say that I am incredibly sorry about you and Zen's loss. There were things that I could have handled better, and I know that nothing I say can give you back what you've lost. But we want to help if you'll let us. I know that Jumin wants to apologize for his treatment of you these past few years. You don't have to agree to his deal, but I think it would be a start to repairing things between us."

Jaehee sat in silence as she considered his words. She had been determined to blame V for what happened ever since the confrontation at Jumin's suite, but now she realized that things were not so black and white. V had played a part in contributing to the circumstances which surrounded Zai's death, yet he was not directly at fault for the tragedy. She couldn't keep holding on to her anger towards him if she wanted things to be better in the future.

"V?" She waited until a noise of confirmation came through the phone. "I will think about it, but tell Jumin not to call again tonight." Jaehee didn't give him the time to respond before she was hanging up and setting Zen's phone to silent before all but throwing it onto the side table. Zen finally let himself laugh as she pulled him down with her and curled into him.

"Are you really going to give them a chance?" She tried not to shiver at his tone of voice when she felt his arms settle around her waist.

"As I told V," Moving in closer so that their lips were almost touching, she could feel Zen tense with anticipation. "I will think about it."

There was no more talking for a while.


	29. Post-Party - Day 13 - Part 1

❤︎ Day 13 - 08:53 AM ❤︎

Getting up at almost nine AM wasn't something that Zai wanted to make a habit out of, but she'd forgotten to set an alarm on her phone, and there were no alarm clocks in the house. When she sat up, she noticed that Jamming had left the room, probably to eat in his kennel. The bowls that they'd used last night for dinner were stacked to the side, and in front of her was one of the most precious things that she had ever seen. Saeran was curled up beneath the sheets, only the top of his face and shoulder peeking out from beneath them. Grabbing her phone off the table, she snapped three pictures in quick succession. Who knew when she'd get another opportunity like this?

Moving slowly, she tried to get off the bed without disturbing him. She hadn't changed into her pajamas last night, so her shirt and shorts were rumpled. Instead of just putting on a new set of clothes, she decided to take a shower instead. After all, she had to go out again today.

* * *

Once she'd cleaned herself up and gotten ready for the day, she returned to the guest room to see Saeran still sleeping. Absently she wondered just how much rest he'd been getting in Mint Eye. Probably not a lot if he was constantly working to break into Seven's ever-evolving defense line for the RFA. She knew that he also did other jobs besides hacking, so he most likely didn't sleep a lot. A pang of remorse hit her hard before she shook the feeling away. There was no sense in feeling sorry about it. He was free and with her now, and heaven help that woman if she ever tried getting her hands on this boy again.

Leaning over to grab the bags off the floor from where she'd left them last night, she went downstairs to put everything away. She figured Saeran's system was mostly clean after all the tea he'd drank the day before. Any lingering symptoms were most likely psychological and had nothing to do with his body chemistry at the moment. However, she still couldn't let him out of her sight if they were in public. He'd have to dye his hair too.

While lost in thought, she didn't hear the sound of feet padding into the room until a voice cut through the silence.

"Zai?" She shot into the air and almost threw the container of tea leaves at the intruder until she realized who it was.

"S-saeran! Haah..don't startle me like that.." She clutched at her chest. So much for being relaxed. "What are you doing up? I didn't wake you, did I?" He looked almost surprised at her question as if he couldn't comprehend the fact that he'd been allowed to sleep in on purpose.

"No, I got up on my own. Do you need any help?" Setting the jar of tea onto the kitchen counter, she let the tension fall away from her shoulders.

"It's fine, I was almost done anyways." Moving the bags out of the way, she started pulling ingredients out of the fridge. "What do you want to eat? I'm going to make breakfast and then head out. You can take a shower while you're waiting, I left some clothes and towels in the bathroom for you just in case." She was so focused on thinking about what she wanted to make that she didn't notice Saeran fall silent.

"I..you bought me clothes?" His eyes widened and Zai wondered if she should've been so hasty.

"Yeah, did you uh, not want them or?" She froze when Saeran quickly walked up to her and threw his arms around her torso, squeezing tightly as his cheek brushed her forehead. Maybe if she kept her eyes closed she could pretend that her face wasn't on fire at the moment.

"Thank you...I've never..no one has ever gotten me anything before, much left as a gift." Once he realized just what he'd done he practically threw himself back away from her. "Ah! I-I'm sorry I didn't mean to-" Reaching forward, she grasped his hand in hers. If she let him apologize then she would have that much more to help him recover from, and she wanted him to know that this was okay.

"It's fine, Saeran." Giving him her best smile, she watched the uncertainty fall from his expression. "I just hope I got your size right. You can go ahead and take a bath if you want. What's mine is yours, alright?" When she noticed the blush creeping up on his face, Zai felt almost lightheaded with glee.

"O-okay...I'll just go then." His eyes were wholly focused on where their hands were joined together, and she gave his palm a light squeeze before pulling back to resume her breakfast preparations.

After he left, Zai watched the spot where he'd been standing for a moment, hand still tingling lightly.

"This is either a really bad idea or the best one I've ever had..." Leaning over to crack some eggs into a pan, she hoped that this plan wouldn't blow up on her, so to speak.

❤︎ Day 13 - 01:28 PM ❤︎

 _POV: Saeran Mode_

It was his first time out of the house, and if he were being honest, he was a little excited. The clothes that Zai had gotten him were comfortable, and the beanie that she'd purchased to hide his unusually colored hair was soft and colored just like his eyes. When they'd left the estate, Zai decided to bring along Jamming, saying that he needed a chance to get out and explore once in a while. He'd gotten pretty excited when she handed him the handle end of the dog's leash. As much as he'd hate to admit, he'd grown pretty attached to the large black canine in the short amount of time he'd been with him.

Currently, they were browsing a salon's hair dye section. His hair color was too noticeable as it was now, and Zai didn't want to take any chances. She had also decided to cut her hair, and Saeran tried his best not to lament the loss of the soft caramel locks that had formerly spilled over her shoulders in waves.

"Saeran what about this color?" Looking over to her, he noticed the box of dye in her hand and considered it. It was red, not bright red like his hair had used to be, but a darker, more burnt version, similar to a maple leaf in fall.

"Well, it's better than what I have now." His words got a giggle out of Zai, and he tried to keep a hold on the urge to let his fingers reach out for hers.

"Then it's decided! We'll get this one. Do you think I should dye mine too?" He nearly threw himself forward but miraculously managed to restrain himself.

"N-no!" His vehement response made her eyes widen as he realized that he must have shouted it on accident. "I mean- you already look really different from what you used to. You don't need to change your look anymore if that's what you're worried about." Hopefully, that settled it.

"If you say so." She turned around to purchase the dye and Saeran let out a harsh breath as he relaxed. That was close.

* * *

It was late in the afternoon by the time they got back to the estate. Jamming was tired out from dragging both him and Zai almost everywhere, and their arms were full of bags containing food, hair care products, and various new outfits for both of them. Saeran could barely hold in his excitement. This was a whole new beginning for him, and he didn't have to worry about being in debt to anyone. He'd questioned Zai on whether or not she expected him to repay her, but she'd looked at him as though he was speaking in another language.

"I want you to have a fresh start. The only thing you need to do is promise me that you'll do your best to make your new life a happy one." She'd said. He believed her. Now he was in her home, and if he thought about it, he realized that he truly didn't want to leave. This girl had shown him more caring and compassion than anyone ever had before. There was a little voice in the back of his head that wanted to remind him of his brother, and all those promises he'd made about freeing them both. He shut that voice up quick. Saeyoung had made his decision, and if the two ever met again, Saeran couldn't say for sure whether or not he'd forgive him. But that was an issue for another time. Zai said that she'd help him dye his hair, and he didn't want to keep her waiting.


	30. The ZFA - Day 13 - Part 2

❤︎ Day 13 - 05:59 PM ❤︎

 _POV: 707 Mode_

Seven and Yoosung had spent most of the day cuddling. After the emotionally charged discussion from last night, he wanted nothing more than to just cuddle his cute boyfriend and sleep, but duty called. Seven wasn't considered a top hacker for nothing, and after repairing the equipment he'd broken three days ago during his meltdown, he settled back into work while Yoosung used one of his older laptops to catch up on schoolwork.

He'd only been working for a short amount of time when he realized something odd in the data logs. Running a diagnostic on it, his breath caught in his throat as he realized just what he'd found.

"Yoosung...Yoosung! Come here!" Summoning his boyfriend over from where he was lying on the couch, Seven checked, then double checked his screen to make sure he wasn't hallucinating. "Look at that! Tell me I'm not making this up!" On his screen was a log of all the times that the RFA members had signed on to their phones. The very obvious ones were from the members checking in on the chat over the previous days, but there was one entry that didn't make any sense at all.

Although Zai's joining of their little hidden organization was quite abrupt, Seven hadn't hesitated to enter her in their system completely, which meant that her phone was connected to the logs as well. But the explosion had happened between six and seven PM, while the log showed that Zai had logged in to the app extremely late, past midnight. None of it made sense. Zai was supposed to have been in the apartment when it blew up, why would her phone have been activated when it should've disintegrated in the blast with the rest of the building?

"Oh..my goodness..." Yoosung pressed both his hands over his mouth as he looked at the screen. "Luciel..you don't think that..the hacker got to her first?" Seven felt like his heart was going to give out. It was something none of them had considered. What if the hacker had gotten to Zai's apartment before it blew up? She could be alive, waiting for them to save her. Seven tried not to beat himself up about it, but he still wished he'd checked the logs sooner. Quickly typing in a few commands, he tried to see whether or not the last known location of the phone was also in the data received from the phone's last transmission.

"I..it says that the last place the phone was used..was this lake, out in the middle of nowhere. It's not near any sort of civilization at all. Why would she be out there?" Seven could feel something like dread gnawing at his stomach. Yoosung was gripping his arm so tightly that he might even be cutting off the blood circulation, but Seven was too busy trying to get the exact coordinates of the phone to care. "We could probably go out there and check for ourselves. Should we tell the others?" Glancing at his boyfriend, he noticed the worry and resolve in his eyes.

"We should see what's there first before we tell everyone. I don't want to get their hopes up, especially Zen and Jaehee's." Seven could understand that. If they brought up the possibility to the rest of the RFA, it might give them a few moments where they could believe that Zai was still alive, but if they came up empty handed, the pain would be even worse the second time around. Seven didn't want that. Standing from his chair, and accidentally yanking Yoosung up as well, he downloaded the directions to the lake onto his phone before making his way to the garage. Pulling his keys off the wall, he turned around to face his boyfriend.

"It's a few hours drive from here, so you don't have to come if you don't want to." Seven didn't want to drag Yoosung along with him on a wild goose chase. Plus there was always the chance of the two of them finding a gruesome scene upon arrival. If he could spare the other from witnessing that, he would. It was not meant to be, however, as Yoosung shook his head and ducked back into the house for a moment only to return with a case of Seven's beloved soda and an entire box of chips.

"I'm coming with you! You don't have to do this alone, remember?" As if he could forget!

"If you're sure then. Let's go!" It had been a while since he'd last prayed, but as he hopped into the driver's seat with Yoosung by his side, he begged that they wouldn't find what they knew they might find.

❤︎ Day 13 - 10:36 PM ❤︎

 _POV: V Mode_

V was exhausted. Jumin had dragged him to the doctor's office early in the morning, and he had been stuck talking about the procedure, the risks, costs (which Jumin assured him he would take care of personally), and the time it would take for V to regain usage of his eyes. The discussion had taken up most of the day, and by the time they left, it was already well into the afternoon. V loved Jumin, he really did, but the man could be incredibly overzealous when it came to things he cared about. Although he rarely showed any emotions on the outside, V knew that there was a constant storm in his mind that drove him to the extreme at times. Hopefully, they could work on that together in the future.

It was getting to the point where V hadn't even considered leaving for two days. It suddenly struck him that night after Jumin had confronted him over his feelings that he realized it. He wanted to stay. He wanted to be close to his childhood friend, now lover, and perhaps even one day, husband. V had already severed all his ties to Rika. His ex-fiancee had fallen so deeply into her own mind that not even he could help her. But with Jumin, he could feel safe and loved and _appreciated_. Although lost in his thoughts, he did notice when Jumin rushed into the room, voice frantic as he spoke to someone on the phone.

"What? Yes, I understand. We'll be there soon. Thank you." V turned to ask Jumin what was going on when he was hit in the face with a thick coat. "Please get dressed quickly, Jihyun, we have to be at Luciel's home within the hour." Bewildered, V pulled the garment off of himself and started to thread his arms through the sleeves.

"Jumin? What's happening?" He couldn't see the other man, but he could feel it when he got closer and pulled V up by his hands.

"There has been a rather...interesting update, to say the least. Luciel told me that he will explain everything once we're there, but he was quite insistent that we arrive sooner rather than later. Driver Kim is already outside, we have to leave now." It was difficult to put on a coat while you were being dragged along with only one arm free, but somehow V managed it. Then they were in Jumin's limousine and on their way to Seven's house. V was curious but also wary of the situation. If it was enough to have Jumin responding with this much urgency, it must be important.

❤︎ Day 13 - 11:03 PM ❤︎

 _POV: Jumin Mode_

They'd arrived at Seven's house at three past eleven, and Jumin was out of the car with V in tow before Driver Kim had even parked properly. They hadn't been at the front step for more than a second before the door was thrown open by Yoosung.

"Hey! You're just in time!" Jumin grimaced.

"We are three minutes late-" Both he and V were pulled inside before he could finish his statement, and then the door was locked behind them. Both Zen and Jaehee were already there surprisingly, considering that Zen lived farther away from Seven's house than he did. Upon noticing their arrival, they both turned to look. Jaehee was lacking her glasses surprisingly, and Jumin could see the sharpness in her gaze. Trying not to flinch, he sat down on the empty side of Seven's couch and tried to ignore the honey butter chip crumbs sticking to his suit as he maneuvered V to sit next to him.

"So what have you brought us here for, Luciel?" The redhead was, unsurprisingly, sitting in front of his computer screens. Upon hearing Jumin's voice, he spun around, a gleam in his eyes.

"Okay! Now that we're all here! You know that I keep logs on when the members of the RFA log into the app for security reasons, right?" A round of nods from everyone. "Well, I was just checking them earlier when I noticed something really strange!" He turned back towards the screens and typed in a few commands that brought up a list of names and timestamps.

"The explosion at Rika's apartment occurred around this time, and you would assume that if Zai was in the apartment, her phone would be gone with her right?" The occupants of the room tensed as they considered Seven's words. "Funny thing is, when you scroll down to the later entries, there's this really interesting notification. It says that Zai's phone had accessed the RFA app at a time that was well past when the bomb went off." Everyone froze as the information sank in, and they realized just what Seven was implying.

 _Zai might still be alive._

"You mean there's a chance that-?" Zen almost rocketed out of his seat, his hands curled into fists at his sides while Jaehee held onto his arm, stunned. Jumin could see the other man beginning to tremble and tightened his own grip on V's hand. Seven pulled up a map on his monitors and zoomed into a photo of a lake taken by satellite.

"Yoosung and I drove out to this lake earlier today to check. We didn't want to give you guys any false hope." Jumin held his breath. They couldn't possibly be insinuating... "When we got there, we found tire tracks and a couple footprints, but nothing to suggest that there'd been a struggle of any kind. When we combed the lake, we found her phone." There was a collective round of gasps as Seven picked up a rather pathetic looking device from next to his keyboard and held it up. The phone was obviously water damaged, but Jumin knew that they wouldn't be looking at it if it wasn't important.

"So, the phone itself is completely trashed. Poor thing! It'll never work again. But-!" Seven grinned as he opened a folder on his computer to reveal a string of letters and numbers that...meant absolutely nothing to anyone else in the room since he was the only one who could understand it. "I managed to rescue the memory with my amazing technological skills! Turns out, the last time the phone was used, it was with a manual passcode entry, meaning it wasn't hacked or manipulated. Going off of everything else we know about the situation and the location, I can say with a large amount of certainty that Zai is most likely alive and not a hostage!"

The room burst into noise as Zen, Jaehee, Seven, and Yoosung started talking at the same time. Zen and Jaehee had obviously wanted to know why their girlfriend had staged her own death. Seven was making an attempt to further explain his discovery to the others, and Yoosung was trying to help his boyfriend explain, but was only succeeding in adding to the already existing cacophony. Feeling a light tapping against his side, Jumin put an arm around V's shoulders and leaned forward so he could hear him better.

"Jumin, if what Luciel is saying is correct then..." He nodded. There was one more variable to take into account here. Straightening up, but leaving his arm draped across his lover's back, Jumin coughed sharply to get everyone else's attention. Once the chaotic conversation had ended, he decided to say his piece.

"Luciel, I shall applaud you and Yoosung for your work. However, there is still the matter of what happened to the hacker. You've established that it is unlikely that she was kidnapped, yet we have no idea if she is still running from her pursuers or not, and that is only following the scenarios where she is still managing to evade them on her own." His words caused a heavy silence in the room as they processed his words. Even if Zai had gotten away, there was no guarantee she was safe now. Plus, with the loss of her phone, she had no way to securely contact the RFA and inform them of her whereabouts.

It wasn't his intention to make everyone so gloomy, but even Jumin felt a pang of remorse as he watched the strength leave Zen's legs, causing him to fall back against the cushions. Jaehee looked like her heart was breaking all over again. Yet, if there was one person who he expected to make an intervention, it certainly wasn't Yoosung.

"C-come on everyone! We can't give up now!" He'd jumped out of his seat and tried to fix his eyes on all of them at once with varying levels of success. "I mean- we have a sign that Zai is alive! If she's still doing her best to run away from the bad people who want to take her away, then isn't it our duty as her friends and-" He paused briefly to look at Zen and Jaehee. "More-than-friends, to help her? How will we do that if we're all just sitting here!? There must be something we can do to bring her back!" Almost immediately spurred on by Yoosung's words, Seven turned to access his keyboard once more.

"My cutie is right! The time for self-pity has passed. We haven't survived as a group for this long just by lounging about and doing nothing. I'll start uploading some of Zai's photos to any facial-recognition capable cameras within a certain distance of that lake. Maybe she hasn't gone too far for us to reach!" Seven started typing in a blur, and Zen and Jaehee looked at each other with resolve before standing up together.

"If there's anything we can do to help-!" Jaehee spoke first for once, her voice carrying a lot of emotions that Jumin felt unfamiliar towards.

"Actually, I wouldn't risk putting the word out on the street that Zai is missing since we don't know if she's still being followed, but if you two could keep putting out a strong face for everyone? I know it's hard when things are so uncertain, but a sense of normalcy doesn't hurt in these times." Seven was being uncharacteristically serious at the moment, but considering the circumstances, it was understandable. Spinning around to face V and Jumin, he let that mischievous smirk creep back onto his face. "As for the both of you! V, you can't see anything right now, so there's not a lot you can do, sorry. But Jumin! If you could use a little of that corporate power of yours to check out the local real-estate for places that might seem like good hiding spots?" Jumin nodded and pulled out his phone.

"I'll make a note to have a small team assembled tomorrow." He had to hand it to him, even if Seven was much too rambunctious for his taste most of the time, he did have some good ideas once in a while. "Anything else?"

"Not right now. Just sit tight and leave everything to me! I won't fail her a second time." Behind his glasses, Seven's eyes were focused on the screen before him, a new kind of resolve evident in the way he spoke and moved. As for Yoosung...

"This is great! We're finally making some progress! But I'm sure everyone is really tired right now so you should all go home before it gets _really_ late." Jumin had to admit, the boy's positive attitude was infectious.

"The operation to save Zai has begun! Meeting adjourned!"


	31. The ZFA - Day 14 - Part 1

❤︎ Day 14 - 09:09 AM ❤︎

 _POV: Saeran Mode_

He hadn't moved for nearly fifteen minutes. His breathing was shallow, and he was doing his best not to blink. At any other time, he would have already been up and out of bed, but there was _no way_ he was going to miss this. In front of him, Zai was sleeping with the most relaxed expression on her face that he'd ever seen. For the past three days he'd spent in her company, minus the time he'd fallen asleep for nearly a whole day while tied to her couch, she'd consistently kept a neutral air except for the few moments where she'd smiled or given him that slightly sad look that came up whenever she mentioned the RFA.

In a way, it was strange. They'd only really met for the first time a few days ago, but he already felt connected to her in a way unlike anything else. He knew it was partially due to the two of them sharing the strange ability to remember the previous timelines. She'd explained how she didn't have any control over when the timeline reset, usually it was every eleven days, but sometimes when she messed up _really bad_ , it would reset faster.

Saeran knew that his memory had been impaired from his time spent in Mint Eye. Even though he could remember most things, how much information he retained from the previous timelines wasn't always the same, or he'd be missing pieces and chunks that he knew would never be fully recovered. Although she had told him he owed her nothing, he was truly in debt to this girl whether he wanted to be or not. Now he was watching her sleep. What was _wrong_ with him?

He tensed when Zai began to stir, eyebrows furrowing as she reached out to grasp at something. To his horror, he made a completely undignified noise that quickly turned into a sharp inhale when her hand clutched at his back and she scooted forward to rest her head against his chest. After getting comfortable, she resumed her peaceful sleep, none the wiser to Saeran's discomfort. Unfortunately, he now had no way to extract himself from her grip without waking her up. Wheezing as the air left his lungs, he realized the gravity of the situation. He was _stuck_.

Looking down at her slightly parted lips, he felt his face heat up to the point where he honestly believed he was on fire. Actually, he would prefer being on fire to being trapped in this situation. There was nothing he could do except possibly make a break for it and hope that he could make the mad dash to the kitchen without her realizing it was him who woke her. Closing his eyes and saying a quick prayer, he tore himself out of her grip and half-ran half-stumbled down the stairs and into the safety of the tiled kitchen in record time.

In his haste to get away, he'd almost tripped over Jamming. After apologizing to the dog with a liberal amount of head scratches and belly rubs, he decided to make himself tea.

* * *

It seemed that his plan had worked because Zai didn't come downstairs until nearly an hour later. Saeran was sitting at the little kitchen island, sipping from his third cup of tea. He tried his best to ignore how her nightgown barely reached past her knees as well as how nice she smelled when she walked by him to reach the sink. Clearing his throat, he waited until she turned to look at him before he spoke up.

"Zai I, don't think that we should sleep in the same room anymore..." He tried to keep the nervousness and remorse out of his voice, but he was pretty sure that last word came out as a squeak. She turned around to look at him questioningly.

"Why? I thought you liked it?" Ducking his head, he hoped she didn't catch the blush on his face. She was correct, he did like it. Then she was laughing into her hand, and for a moment, Saeran forgot everything except the crease of her eyes as they filled with amusement and _life_. "Oh, oh, I get it. Is this about last night?" ...What?

"I- I don't, what... Last night?" Now he was confused. What had happened last night? All he could remember after they finished dyeing his hair was her helping him wash the remaining solution out of his now dark auburn locks and he had been so comfortable at the moment that he'd just slipped into unconsciousness the moment he felt her fingers against his scalp. He'd already known that Zai had carried him to bed once, so if she had done it a second time he wouldn't be too surprised, but her next statement almost made him choke on his tea.

"Yeah, you were really clingy, wouldn't let go at all." She giggled lightly. "Your arms were so tight around my waist that I almost couldn't breathe, but you relaxed after I started hugging you back. Pretty cute if you ask me." Saeran was glad he was sitting down because he might have collapsed otherwise. As it was, he still fell onto his elbows as mortification filled his body. Someone take him back to Mint Eye right now or at least let him die on the spot. He couldn't handle the way she was looking at him, with both amusement and happiness and _something else_ that he didn't even want to think about at the moment.

"N-no it's not about last night...but I guess it's fine if you're okay with it?" Looking down at his mug, he did his best not to pay attention to how it shook in his grip, or how he was hyper aware of the sound of soft feet approaching him. The stool next to his was pulled out and he caught a glimpse of smooth legs before his eyes were darting to _anywhere that wasn't Zai's face_.

"Saeran..." He was determined not to look in her direction, but her hand was sliding up to rest against his arm and the shaking was getting worse now. "Does it bother you? The touching? Because I can stop. I just- I thought you enjoyed it as much as I do." His resolve crumbling, he let go of his cup to grasp her hand in both of his.

"That's the problem! I do! I really, really like it. But it feels like- it's like I'm doing something I'm not supposed to. You never really told me whether or not you're actually still dating Zen and Jaehee. I don't want to be the reason why you keep yourself from seeing them again." He hoped he wasn't squeezing too hard, but at the moment he was lost in the rolling storm of emotions currently filling his heart and head. "You make me feel like I matter. You're the first person who I've gotten to touch gently in forever. I don't care about anything that happened before this anymore! You...you forgave me for everything I did even when you didn't have to. I tried to kidnap you! That alone should make you hate me!" Almost jumping off his seat, he sank to his knees in front of her.

"You know, I've thought about this, and I- I don't think I'll ever have a chance to go back." Saeran was so wrapped up in his own turmoil that he didn't notice Zai getting down and kneeling on the floor next to him until her arms were curling around him and pulling them both together. He could feel moisture against his shoulder and his chest ached as he realized that he'd made her cry _again_.

"Even if I did, there's no guarantee they'd want me back if they knew what I've done. I don't want them to think of me in that way..." She moved back so they could see eye-to-eye and Saeran was struck with just how strong this girl was, to force herself to leave behind those that she loved in order to protect them. Then to forgive her would-be attacker and try to make him into a friend instead. "I don't want to replace my love for them with my love for you. It wouldn't be fair to anyone." She worked so hard to make everyone else happy, so why couldn't she do the same for herself?

"Please, It isn't even like I want you all for myself, or that I want to steal you away from them. It's more like...I want to be a part of whatever you have, with them too." He couldn't deny, it sounded more than nice when he thought about it. Zai had the love of two people, three if you counted himself, and some part of him yearned for a connection like that. "I know you've only just left them, and I'm part of why you had to, but... do you think that if- if you ever go back to them again, could I come with you?" Saeran could feel himself shaking with anxiety.

In a way, it was weird. All his time spent at Mint Eye, he'd been mostly indifferent or just angry at the world. But after she helped him to recover, he'd been feeling more and more. Sometimes, that was a good thing, but he didn't know how to control his emotions at all. Here they were, on Zai's kitchen floor, having a heart-to-heart conversation about their relationships while their drinks went cold. It was almost funny. Almost.

"Saeran!" Zai's eyes were filled with tears that were now getting all over him, but he couldn't find it in himself to care as her hands moved to tangle themselves with his.

"I want to be near you, okay? I feel happy when you touch me. I've spent so long inside that stupid apartment that for a while, I forgot what it was like to be held by another person every day. I can't guarantee that I'll ever reunite with the RFA, but if you- if you really want to come with me," She paused to smile, and Saeran's heart fluttered wildly. "I'll make sure there's a place for you with us no matter what it is you decide to do." Pulling her down into his lap, he let his lips brush against her temple as their tears and trembling subsided.

"That's all I could ask for. Thank you." She sighed contentedly and they both took a moment to come down from their emotional highs, relaxing in each other's presence. Eventually, the two of them felt better enough that they could move on wit their day. Zai stood first and gently pulled up Saeran with her. There were another few seconds where they simply started hugging and didn't let go until they started getting cold from standing on the tile barefoot. Smiling brightly, Zai moved over to the sink with his mug and rinsed it out before pulling an unused one out of the pantry.

"Want me to make us some more tea?" Looking at her standing there, a genuine expression of happiness on her face, Saeran could honestly say that he loved this girl.

"Yes, please." However, he'd save that particular confession for another time.


	32. The ZFA - Day 14 - Part 2

❤︎ Day 14 - 12:32 PM ❤︎

 _POV: Yoosung Mode_

After he had fallen asleep waiting for his boyfriend to join him in bed, Yoosung woke up at noon only to find Seven still working at his computers, eyes glued to the screen. Ignoring the way his fingers twitched, he slowly approached him and let his chin drop on top of Seven's, getting a jolt out of the other boy as his arms folded over his chest.

"Someone didn't come to bed last night...I wonder who it might have been, hmm Luciel?" Needless to say, Yoosung was _terrifying_ after just waking up.

"Ahaha..ha...you see-!" Spinning the chair so he could face Seven, Yoosung gave him his best glare, which only made the redhead shake more.

"Didn't I tell you what happens when you work without sleeping?" Judging from the amount of empty chip bags and soda cans littering the desk, he could tell that Seven hadn't taken many breaks. "You're going to bed right now and I'm not letting you up until you're well rested." Pulling him out of his seat, Yoosung ignored his boyfriend's cries of distress until he was pressed flat against the mattress, trapped under Yoosung's own body weight. He knew that Seven could have easily thrown him off if he wanted to, but he'd never do such a thing and risk hurting his boyfriend.

As a result, he was forced to just lie still beneath the blond boy, listening to the comforting sound of his heart beating, until the world blurred together and faded away entirely. After Seven was asleep, Yoosung gently removed the glasses from his face and set them aside before moving to curl up under Seven's arm, which automatically shifted to cradle him against his chest.

Sighing contentedly, Yoosung closed his eyes and let himself relax in Seven's comforting embrace.

❤︎ Day 14 - 03:40 PM ❤︎

 _POV: V Mode_

He never thought that he'd want his sight back this badly, but sitting in Jumin's penthouse while he ran about, answering calls, attending meetings, and checking up on the small team he'd created to do research on properties located in the vicinity of the lake that Seven and Yoosung had found Zai's phone at. At the moment, V couldn't even sign into the chat with his phone.

His surgery wouldn't be for another two days since the procedure's due date had been expedited by Jumin, but V couldn't help feeling frustrated over his circumstances. He wanted to contribute somehow, he needed to make it up to the others. As it was, he was trapped, stewing in his own impatience regarding the situation.

"Jihyun..." The cushion that V was sitting on dipped. Humming, V let himself lean against Jumin's side. He didn't have to see to know that those gray eyes he loved so much were focused on him at the moment. "You're thinking so loudly, it's disturbing Elizabeth's rest." A soft head of hair dropped against his shoulder, and V sighed with amusement.

"My apologies, but I doubt that Elizabeth the 3rd is the main reason for why you're here next to me and ignoring all the messages on your phone at the moment." Jumin pulled away and V laughed in spite of the loss. "Come on, tell me what is bothering you." He turned in Jumin's direction and was surprised when he felt soft lips against his, then on his cheek, his forehead, his nose.

"Ah, it is nothing, truly. I was just struck by how wonderful you look." Another kiss was pressed against his neck, and V could feel his face warming at an incredible rate. "I was remembering that all of this...might not have happened. You know how thankful I am for you, yes?" So that was what this was about.

"Of course I do. I appreciate it love, but you don't have to worry about me so much." Cold hands curled around his and V could hear his breath hitch.

"That is a lie. It's my job to worry about you." Jumin's voice was low, and V wondered what had him acting like this so suddenly. "You've been like this ever since Luciel and Yoosung discovered that Zai might be alive. It must be difficult for you, not being able to participate, but you should realize that you're already helping." Apparently, he'd been less subtle than he thought with his emotions.

"How am I helping, Jumin? Because I don't believe I've done anything to assist with finding Zai or anything else." Before he had even finished speaking, hands were cupping his cheeks and pulling him in for another tender kiss.

"Stop that... You're here, keeping me grounded, and that's all you need to do at the moment." One last kiss was made against his crown and then Jumin was getting up, V lamenting his loss already. "Do not stress yourself, please. If you'd like something to do, you can keep Elizabeth the 3rd company. I've been so busy that I haven't been able to pay her as much attention as normal." Had it been anyone else V might have been insulted, but he knew just how much Jumin loved his cat. To be in charge of her care was to be trusted with the second-most important person in Jumin's life. V was the first, or so he'd been told.

"I suppose if it helps you, I'll do it." He wished he could see the smile that he knew was on Jumin's face as his lover pulled him to Elizabeth's room.

❤︎ Day 14 - 10:14 PM ❤︎

Zai didn't realize just how boring her days would be after leaving the apartment, and now her lack of proper planning was getting back at her. She was lying on her back, stretched over Saeran's legs, with her head resting against one of the sofa's arms. Saeran was currently balancing her computer on top of her thighs. Once they had finished lunch, Zai had dug out her laptop and offered it to the resident hacker with little fanfare. At first, he'd been unsure about the prospect and had asked if she really trusted him with it. Upon reminding him that he wouldn't ask her that first if he was really planning on going back to Mint Eye, he accepted the device and hadn't let go of it since.

Now they were simply lounging, but Zai was bored out of her mind. They should really be going to bed soon, but Saeran had been completely absorbed in whatever he was doing on her computer, and she didn't want to tell him to stop when this was the most engaged she'd seen him ever since she gave him free reign of the house. Giving his arm a few light taps, she watched his fingers still before looking over to her. It struck her that his eyes had changed color recently. When they'd first met, they were a striking mint green, now they were a warm gold. Her heart skipped as she tried to remember how to speak.

"...Yes?" Whoops, she'd taken too long.

"Sorry, sorry! Can you let me up, please? I'm gonna go to bed now before I accidentally fall asleep here and wake up aching all over." Wiggling her legs slightly to emphasize her point, she waited until he carefully lifted the device off of her before sliding out of his lap. "Thank you! Feel free to come up anytime, okay? Just don't stay up too late." She couldn't resist giving him a quick kiss on the top of his head and watching him scramble to place the computer to the side so he could reach up and kiss her on the cheek as well.

"Night, Zai." He was back on the laptop before he'd even sat down again completely. Giggling, she made her way up the stairs.

"Night, Saeran."


	33. The ZFA - Day 15 - Part 1

❤︎ Day 15 - 11:47 AM ❤︎

When Zai had gone to bed, it had been only one or two hours at most before Saeran came to join her. She'd stirred a little when the mattress and covers were moved but quickly settled back into restfulness once she could feel the warmth of another body beside her, and the weight of Saeran's arm from where he'd set it across her hip. Waking up was a different story. He was up and about when Zai was only _just_ coherent enough to get out of bed and dress for the day. By the time she was finally walking down towards the living room Saeran was already sitting on the couch, wholly focused on her computer once more. Rolling her eyes amusedly, she called out to him as she entered the kitchen.

"I know it's a nice computer, but if you spend any more time on that thing, I'll be assuming that you've replaced me." She laughed at the indignant screech that drifted in from the adjacent room as she prepared breakfast. Now they were sitting at the kitchen island together. Saeran had the laptop open on the side, but was otherwise preoccupied with enthusiastically demolishing his plate of rice and eggs.

They had skipped dinner the previous night so Zai suggested going out and making a day of it. He'd said yes, but only when she'd confirmed that they would stop by a makeup store in order to get some concealer for his tattoo. Unlike his eyes, some marks from his past at Mint Eye weren't so easily removed, and he couldn't wear long sleeves forever. They were nearly finished with their meal when a familiar tone started echoing through the mostly empty house.

"...Isn't that your phone?" Zai thought about where she'd put it last, and realized that she must have left in on the couch when she went to bed. However, that didn't explain why it was ringing, considering she never gave anyone her new number. Hopping off the stool, she walked into the living room to see her dog with the phone in his mouth. Already thinking about how she was sure that warranties didn't cover puppy drool, she beckoned him over.

"Jamming! Come over here and give me my phone~" Kneeling down, she winced every time his teeth clicked against the screen. "Come on...be a good boy...!" It seemed her aunts hadn't trained Jamming very well in the fetch department at all because the black furry canine decided to run instead of delivering her phone back to her. "Wait- No! Drop it! Drop it!"

❤︎ Day 15 - 12:16 PM ❤︎

 _POV: Jaehee Mode_

Jaehee was doing her very best to keep herself awake. Having already downed two cups of coffee that morning, she should have been alert. However, her phone had been ringing almost non-stop since she woke up, at 6 AM. She had even slept on the couch in order to avoid waking Zen, even though he'd said it was fine. Currently, she along with the rest of the RFA, or ZFA as Yoosung had dubbed them after the news of Zai's possible survival the other day, were situated in one of Jumin's empty meeting rooms to discuss their findings.

Apparently, they hadn't made as much headway as they'd liked, but thankfully, Jaehee's business was scheduled to open within the week thanks to Jumin's help, and Zen had gotten a new role with a rather prominent director. So things were going well on that front. Jaehee just wished that their efforts in finding her and Zen's girlfriend would be more fruitful soon. Every day she spent without knowing whether or not Zai was safe was an additional day that Jaehee had to endure with only half her heart in place. She knew this bothered Zen as well. The missing piece that neither of them could quite fill on their own.

Startled out of her reverie, Jaehee noticed her phone vibrating in her pocket and sighed with exhaustion. Probably another call from the landlord looking to confirm plans. Ignoring the rather loud discussion taking place amongst the men in the room, who had started debating on what their next move should be, she fished the device out and did her best to not sound half dead inside as she answered.

"Jaehee Kang speaking, how can I help y-" She stopped speaking as the noises from the other side of the line came through. Eyes widening, she waved her hand wildly over at the now-squabbling males (minus V, who had been mostly silent the whole time) and placed her phone on speaker before sliding it towards the middle of the table.

"Jaehee what-" Quickly shoving a finger against Seven's lips, she shushed him.

"Listen!" Whisper shouting wasn't something she often did, but at the moment, the circumstances warranted it. Everyone's attention was on the phone, which was silent until it burst back to life.

"Grab him!" The voice was familiar, but the mystery caller must not have been somewhere with a very good signal because the sound was grainy and only barely understandable.

"I'm trying!" That voice wasn't familiar to her, but when she glanced at over at Seven, his expression seemed tense.

"Try harder! Jam-ming! Give me back my phone you-" There was the sound of...panting? Was the caller's phone stolen by a dog? It would explain the unexpected call, but still. how had they gotten her number?

"Oof!" A light thud echoed through the receiver. "-ran are you okay!?" "Ow ow ow...mostly okay. He's too fast for me. Have you tried bribing him?" "No way! If I use food he might start drooling more! It's only water resistant to a point you know!" "So? Bribe him with something else!" "Like what!?"

The entire ZFA was now focused completely on this phone call which was centered around...two people and their dog? In which the dog had somehow taken the phone from one of them, resulting in a chase so they could get it back. In the back of her mind, Jaehee wondered what her life had become.

"I don't know...a walk?" The sound of panting increased. "Ugh...If I say yes to that we'll have to bring him along, and then we can't go out to eat!" Faint laughter echoed through the phone's speakers before the next words shattered Jaehee's world.

"At least you still have your priorities in line, Zai." The rest of the world fell into static for Jaehee.

Zai.

Zai was on the other side of this phone.

Zai was alive.

 _She was alive and safe!_

Jaehee almost jumped out of her seat when Seven half-leaped half-slid over the table to grab her phone and plug it into his computer, immediately typing away at his keyboard while the rest of them watched in shock. After a few seconds, everyone had turned to where Seven sat, the stress in the room burning with intensity as they realized that this was their one-way ticket to learning of Zai's whereabouts. Jaehee could cry. Her girlfriend was alive, presumably with someone else and a dog.

The circumstances came at her like a tidal wave. The phone was currently in possession by a dog, which could break the device at any moment. She felt dizzy.

"Seven...Seven! Hurry! Please!" She was doing her best to keep her voice in check, but it was proving more difficult than expected.

"I'm trying! Don't rush me! " Even as he said that, it seemed like his fingers worked faster at the urging.

Suddenly there was a jumble of noises from the phone and her attention was once again focused on it in spite of herself.

"W-wait! Jamming! Bad boy! Don't bite i-" The call cut off and Jaehee nearly screamed. Zen was beside her in an instant, hands pulling her tightly curled fists apart and intertwining his fingers with hers so she couldn't make the red crescent welts on her palms worse.

"Jaehee calm down! It isn't over!" He moved over into her frame of vision and she could see the tears beginning to pool in his eyes. "She's alive for real, we know that now! Wherever she is, she's safe, so all we have to do is find her, okay?" For not the first time, she realized that Zen's acting training was most likely a blessing in situations like these. When the two of them were alone with each other later, he'd most likely come apart in her arms, but for not he was putting on a strong face for everyone else there. Zai was his girlfriend too, after all. "Seven, can you still trace the call?"

"Uhh...probably? The signal was pretty weak from the start. I probably should've started sooner, but!" He flashed them a confident grin. "Even if I can't pinpoint their exact location, I have the name of the closest city, so we can narrow our search down if we have to!" Yoosung, who had been raptly listening to his boyfriend speak, gave out a cheer.

"We're so much closer to getting her back! It won't be long now!" It was the best news Jaehee had all week.

❤︎ Day 15 - 12:33 PM ❤︎

Lifting up the smartphone, which had been roughly severed in half by doggy teeth, Zai frowned. All the photos she'd saved from her time in the RFA had been on it, and Saeran had confirmed that the memory chip had been shattered when Jamming had accidentally bit into the phone, ending its life for good. She was quite upset at her dog, but she couldn't fault him when he'd never been trained how to return goods he had taken. Fetch was never her favorite game anyway.

Pulling her knees up to her chest with a sigh, she tried not to lament the loss of the pictures too badly. It still hurt, knowing she wouldn't be able to get them back, but it wasn't like she could go and ask Zen or Jaehee for their copies now could she? Feeling the light dip of the couch cushion when Saeran slid in next to her, she let herself fall back against his legs, warm brown meeting gold as their eyes locked.

"Do you still wanna go out?" A nod from Saeran.

"Yeah, I still need the stuff to cover my tattoo." Until he could get it properly removed, he'd just have to settle for covering it up. Personally, Zai didn't mind how it looked, but it reminded Saeran of a not-so-good time in his life, so if he didn't want to see it, she'd support him.

"Well, now I have to stop by the phone store too, ugh." Slinging an arm over her eyes, she stuck her tongue out, which got a chuckle out of Saeran in turn. "Why do I have such a disobedient dog?" She felt fingers skim against her exposed midriff and she sucked in her giggles as smooth hands drifted over her waist.

"You know what they say...like owner like pet. Or something like that." The two of them collapsed into laughs and once they'd subsided, Zai looked up and realized that Saeran's face was _unbearably_ close.

"...Hey, Saeran?" His eyes were blown wide as they gazed at each other and Zai tried not to let herself get too excited.

"Yes?" She was almost hyper aware of his hands on her sides and his breath mingling with hers.

"Can I...can I kiss you?" Zai almost held her breath. They'd been trading chaste kisses for a little more than a day now, but for once she wanted to experience the real thing. Saeran's expression hadn't changed after she'd asked her question, but he did shift her so she was kneeling over his lap instead of sprawled in it.

"Are you sure?" She didn't have it in her to speak anymore, so she nodded instead. Then he was tilting his head and pulling her forward and Zai _sighed_ into the kiss while her heart felt like it might explode in her chest.

They stayed like that for a while, his arms around her hips while hers rested on his shoulders, lips pressed against each other, occasionally punctuated by a murmur or a small gasp. Eventually, they had to separate, which was echoed by a disappointed noise from Zai and a soft moan from Saeran.

"That was...wow..." Eyes still a little dazed, Zai watched as Saeran trembled slightly as he tightened his grip around her. "Can we do that again?" He laughed breathlessly and let his forehead rest against her shoulder.

"We still have to go out, though..." Groaning, she slowly made her way off the sofa so retrieve her jacket and keys.

"Fine, but once we get back, I'm expecting an encore performance." She didn't see him getting up, but she could hear his hum of approval.

"I'm looking forward to it." Forcing down her shivers of delight, Zai moved a little faster. Later couldn't come soon enough.

❤︎ Day 15 - 02:42 PM ❤︎

 _POV: ZEN Mode_

At the moment, Zen was tense, which was understandable considering that he'd just received confirmation that his previously-thought-to-be-dead girlfriend was most definitely _alive_. Even if the phone call confirming that fact was due to a dog accidentally calling Jaehee's phone somehow after stealing another phone from it's owner. What would Zai be doing with a dog, though? In any case, that didn't matter at the moment. What mattered right now was finding Zai.

He'd been holding on to Jaehee like a lifeline for over an hour now. Zen wanted nothing more than to hop on his motorcycle and speed off to the city closest to the phone's location to start searching, but after her little outburst earlier, Jaehee had run out of reserve energy to keep her going and had dropped like a stone. He had caught her, thankfully, but he didn't trust Jumin to watch over his other sweetheart's health, so he would just have to stay until she'd recovered. He knew that she was stressed these past few days, but he didn't think she would have collapsed like that. Zen made himself a mental reminder to keep Jaehee from overworking herself until everything was resolved.

Seven had sent Yoosung off with Driver Kim in order to retrieve some of his equipment from his home a while ago. Apparently, the couldn't properly trace the call after the phone's assumed destruction, but he had managed to get a lock on the closed network it was connected to. Surprisingly, there were some protections on it, which meant he would need something more heavy duty than just the basic laptop he'd brought with him to Jumin's place.

Gently maneuvering Jaehee's head to rest against his shoulder, he set his arms back around her waist, trying not to squirm when her soft breaths hit his ear. Looking over to where V was sitting next to Jumin, who was engrossed in a phone call that was most likely related to their real-estate scouting project, Zen quietly called out.

"Hey, V." The teal haired man turned in his direction, the light reflecting off the side of his darkened lenses. "I just wanted you to know that Jaehee and I...we don't blame you for what happened. I know Jaehee was really upset a few days ago, and I know she really wanted to hold you accountable for everything, but that doesn't matter anymore. You aren't at fault, and as for the lying? We forgive you." Zen wasn't expecting a response, but he still couldn't miss the whispered 'Thank you' from across the table. Leaning back in his chair, he pulled Jaehee in a little closer and relaxed with a smile.

They were going to get her back. It was only a matter of time.


	34. The ZFA - Day 15 - Part 2

❤︎ Day 15 - 04:17 PM ❤︎

 _POV: Saeran Mode_

It had been over three hours since he and Zai had kissed but Saeran was sure that his heart still hadn't resumed its regular speed since. Zai was holding on to one of his hands, lightly swinging them both together, while the other held onto a bag full of miscellaneous make-up products. They had been walking together for a while, just enjoying the early evening air while absently looking for a good place to eat. After all the commotion with Jamming and Zai's phone earlier, all he wanted to do was sit down and enjoy spending time with his...girlfriend? Honestly, the boundaries in their relationship weren't as clear as he would like them to be, but Zai was comfortable enough around to kiss him in a decidedly non-chaste manner, so he'd take what he could get.

Saeran still wasn't quite used to not being busy all the time. When he was with Mint Eye, he was solely responsible for any dealings that required leaving the 'sanctuary'. Except for duties such as grocery shopping and such, he had handled anything and everything involving either technology or plain brute force. Just being able to be outside and exploring without worrying about deadlines or time limits made everything so much more enjoyable. Focusing on the warmth blooming outwards from where his and Zai's hands were connected, Saeran smiled to himself. This was nice.

* * *

The sun was on its way down the horizon, but Zai and Saeran were too preoccupied to even think about the time. Zai had gotten tired of walking around and had asked Saeran what his favorite food was. He'd been forced to admit that Mint Eye wasn't very big on any cuisine that was not to be given to their Savior, so he wasn't very picky when it came to food that didn't come in the form of dry biscuits or vitamin supplements. Her expression had fallen for a split second before she bounced back and asked him what he _thought_ his favorite food would be, if given the opportunity.

"Ice cream." He responded so fast that he blushed and turned his head away so he wouldn't have to see her reaction. What was he thinking? It was so incredibly childish, yet it had been something he wanted to try for years. Missing the wide smile she gave him, he didn't notice when she searched up directions to an ice cream parlor on her new phone.

"Look, there's a place just a couple blocks away! Let's go!" He wasn't prepared for her enthusiastic tugging but stumbled along behind her anyway. Now they were currently in the middle of what might qualify as a sea of ice cream. Once they arrived at the establishment, Saeran had been completely overwhelmed by just how many flavors there were. Upon noticing his dilemma, Zai had suggested they just try all of them. He thought she was joking, but after finishing his last bite of cotton candy swirl, he knew otherwise.

"I don't know if we're going to be able to finish all of this." They'd eaten a substantial amount already, but there were still at least a dozen more flavors left. He was glad he only agreed to get one scoop of each flavor, because if it had been any more, he might not have survived it.

"Don't be silly, you said that five flavors ago." She swiped a stray dot of melted cream and sugar off his face with her thumb and casually licked it clean. Saeran swallowed hard and tried not to think about how cute she looked in the moment and made an attempt to focus on something else. Looking down at all of the discarded paper bowls they'd been using, he wondered.

"Speaking of which, where do you get your money from anyways? I know I'm a little behind on social norms, but most people can't afford to just buy every single flavor from an ice cream store. Even if it's only one scoop per flavor." Looking up at the girl across from him, he noticed that she was already halfway through the scoop of caramel walnut praline and started scrambling for a clean spoon. Zai pulled her phone out from her pocket and hummed lightly, a tiny pink spoon handle sticking out from between her lips.

"Oh, well, I get monthly bank deposits from my parents." He was so focused on savoring the taste that he almost missed her reply before running it through his mind.

"They just send you cash every month for no reason at all?" Something similar had happened to him when he was younger, but his mother had never spent a dime on him or Saeyoung. Banishing those negative thoughts away, he tried to pay more attention to Zai's words.

"Actually they're supposedly sending it to pay for my education. Except I don't think they noticed that I finished over a year ago, and I'm not really inclined to tell them." Saeran almost choked on his spoonful of mint fudge drizzle as he took in her words.

"Wow, you're a lot smarter than everyone expects you to be." He watched her face brighten at the compliment before she stuck her tongue out at him playfully.

"I mean, I did outsmart you, didn't I?" It wasn't one of his proudest moments, but she was correct, she had him beat before he had even arrived at Rika's apartment.

"Yeah, and it's probably the best thing that's ever happened to me." In a bold move, he leaned across the table and kissed her cheek before sitting back down so he could see her reaction. Zai dissolved into a fit of giggles and hid her face behind her phone. He thought he might have even caught a whispered 'How daring' from her before she was straightening up and raising a spoonful of vanilla marshmallow creme up to his lips.

"Say ahh!" Smirking before pulling the spoon out of her grasp with his teeth, he sighed at the taste before offering her some of his key lime twirl. "You know, if you think this is good, wait until I introduce you to frozen yogurt!"

Words lost to him, Saeran simply smiled and nodded. He could get used to this.

❤︎ Day 15 - 10:23 PM ❤︎

 _POV: 707 Mode_

Typing with one hand wasn't easy, but it was absolutely _illegal_ to wake Yoosung if he was asleep. Seven could not move his arm and end up accidentally pulling his precious, _adorable_ boyfriend out of dream world right now. So he would suffer the consequences and attempt to work with only his non-dominant hand free, the other trapped beneath Yoosung's head as he dozed away in the now dark meeting room. Seven knew that the past few days hadn't been exactly easy for the smaller blond. Even though he himself had gotten very little rest, Yoosung had been up and about for much longer than him, and he had been doing things a lot harder than sitting in a chair and staring at a screen.

Seven's job was hard, but he wasn't coding while cooking, cleaning, and occasionally leaving the house to pick up food and other necessities. Looking down at his sweet, perfect lover, Seven found it hard to believe that just about a week ago, he'd wanted to keep Yoosung away from him. At this point, he couldn't even imagine his life without the other boy in it. He'd fallen _hard_ , but all the same, if this was the price he had to pay, he didn't really want to get up.

Yanked out of his internal monologue by a rather loud notification, he rushed to silence it before Yoosung could wake. However, upon clicking it, he realized that he'd gotten a hit on the facial recognition bulletin he'd attached to the city's security camera interface.

"Ohoho...what do we have here?" Zooming into the image, he tried to make out just who was in the photo. "A couple on a romantic walk? Wait- no way..." After enhancing the image quality, he could plainly see that it was definitely Zai in the picture. His heart leaped for joy. He'd actually found her! Score one for the Defender of Justice! But who was that other person with her? He groaned lightly when he realized that the other individual's face was turned away from him, and he noted that Zai was laughing in the picture and _had she cut her hair_?

There was an increasingly anxious feeling in his chest as he wondered whether or not she really wanted to be found, however, he couldn't bring that up with the other RFA members. Zen and Jaehee especially. It would shatter them completely, and he couldn't do that to his friends. He would just have to see how the situation played out.

Saving the location where the surveillance photograph had been taken, he quickly erased the bulletin as well as any traces he'd been in the system at all. No need to have other people snooping around in places they shouldn't. He then went back to his previous task of trying to access the closed network that Zai's phone had been connected to before its unfortunate death-by-dog. The security was surprisingly tight, and not something he'd expect from what appeared to be a building out in the middle of _nowhere_. But he had to get in if he wanted to pinpoint her exact location. However, he'd been up for over twenty-four hours and sleep was looking pretty good right now.

Swallowing a yawn, he figured he could take a quick nap and get back to work right after. Plus, Yoosung always said his work was best when he was fully rested!

Seven set his computer on standby before letting his head fall back against the seat. Just fifteen minutes of rest never hurt anyone, after all.


	35. The ZFA - Day 16 - Part 1

❤︎ Day 16 - 07:04 AM ❤︎

 _POV: 707 Mode_

Seven awoke to the sound of a mug connecting with hardwood and slowly opened his eyes. Blond hair was tickling his throat, a clear sign that Yoosung had gotten up sometime last night and moved to Seven's lap. Automatically pulling the boy closer, Seven savored the quiet noise he made, accompanied by the feeling of hands tightening their grip on his jacket. So cute! Looking to the side, he noticed an impatient looking Jumin standing next to the table, a cup of coffee in one hand to accompany the one he'd already set down.

"Hey, Mista Trust Fund Kid, how does it feel getting a taste of what Jaehee's life was like?" Had he been a little more awake, he probably would've registered Jumin's expression becoming just the slightest bit pinched, but as it was, he didn't. Holding on to Yoosung with one arm, Seven reached for the mug and downed half the contents, the strong flavor of black coffee immediately perking him up the moment it hit his tongue. "So, we both know you're not here for pleasantries. What's up?" Letting a bit of his true persona bleed through, he set the cup down and moved to straighten his glasses, which had been knocked askew while he was sleeping.

"I just came in to check on your progress. Everyone is quite on edge about your findings after all." Jumin may have looked like he had the emotional capacity of a calculator, but Seven knew this was his own special way of showing he cared.

"Actually, something pretty interesting came up last night, let me just-" He carefully maneuvered Yoosung's head onto his shoulder and tried not to giggle when the smaller boy's soft breaths started hitting his neck. Reaching around the blond in his arms, Seven brought the console out of sleep mode and signed in before pulling up the photo that had been taken last night. "Here we go! I found her!" Jumin leaned over to look at the screen and his eyes widened almost imperceptibly.

"Luciel this is...great news." Was it just him, or did Jumin sound a little impressed? "I should tell the others." Wait, no, bad idea.

"H-hold on a second! I just got a shot of her from a traffic cam, so I don't actually know where she's staying yet. I've almost got the location security down if you give me a few more hours-!" After all this time, Seven still rambled when he was nervous, but he could see the understanding on Jumin's face. After placing the other cup of still-warm coffee on the table, he turned to leave but stopped at the door.

"I know we're placing most of our expectations on your shoulders, Luciel, but you're the only one who can do this. Please do not let us down." Seven watched him walk away and tried not to feel intimidated. He'd done harder things than this before! Finding a party planner who faked her death and may or may not have been kidnapped? Easy peasy! No problem for him!

Even with his self-reassurances, he still couldn't help the light tremors in his hands as he moved to type. There was a shifting movement in his lap and he froze before grinning and wrapping his arms around the smaller body currently situated on top of his legs.

"Sneaky sneaky, Yoosung! How long have you been awake, cutie?" He could feel a smile against his neck as his boyfriend blindly grasped for his cup of coffee before Seven picked it up and handed it to him. Sitting up in his lap, Yoosung took a sip of the bitter liquid, grimaced, and then continued to drink until some semblance of alertness returned to his eyes.

"Long enough. Jumin shouldn't pressure you so much when you've already done a lot to help." Seven reclined in the chair, causing Yoosung to pitch forward with him, resulting in their foreheads knocking together. After a shared groan of pain and subsequent laughter at the situation, Seven pulled his adorable boyfriend in for a quick chaste kiss.

"You might be right, but so is he. I'm the only one in the RFA with the skills to find Zai. We have no one else to turn to." Yoosung dropped his head against Seven's shoulder while his arms slipped beneath his jacket to wrap around his middle.

"As long as you don't forget that you can only do so much. No one is expecting you to be perfect." Seven could feel himself getting lighter, like he might float off earth at this rate. Yoosung always knew what to say to make him feel better. "Plus, I'm here to help too, so you don't have to do everything alone!" Smiling, he leaned down to nuzzle into bright gold strands before gently extracting himself from his boyfriend's grip.

"Thank you! I can do anything when I've got my cutie here supporting me! But first-!" He gave his foot an experimental wiggle and cringed _hard_ when he felt his entire leg burst into static. "Please get off of me, I might be awake right now, but my legs are definitely still asleep." Yoosung scrambled to remove his weight off of his boyfriend while the latter tried to ignore how uncomfortable he was.

"Sorry, sorry!" They were definitely sleeping in a bed next time.

❤︎ Day 16 - 07:49 AM ❤︎

 _POV: ZEN Mode_

Although he'd never admit it out loud, Zen was thankful that Jumin had let him and Jaehee stay overnight in his penthouse. The man might have had over eight guest bedrooms, but it was still nice, not having to drive back home after the news of Zai's confirmed survival hit them full force. Both he and Jaehee had been rather unstable for the rest of the day and had decided to turn in early. Now the sun was barely peeking through the windows, and Jaehee was still asleep. She looked more relaxed now than she had in days, and Zen knew that he owed that to both Jumin and Seven. One day, he promised himself, he would pay them back. Soon, Jaehee started moving in his arms and Zen moved forward to lightly kiss her brow.

"Morning, Beautiful." Even when still half asleep, Jaehee could still turn the most endearing shade of red whenever he complimented her. His heart soared. "Have a nice rest?" Her eyes fluttered open before closing once more and burrowing further into his embrace.

"Too early...phone calls...no coffee..." Zen tried not to laugh as he pulled the covers up to cover Jaehee's shoulders, before delicately extracting himself from the bed.

"Be back in a bit." He called out lightly so he wouldn't wake her further as he slipped past the door so he could get dressed. Jaehee might have gotten up early due to work before, but was definitely not a morning person.

* * *

Once fully dressed and caffeinated, Zen returned with another mug of coffee and a plate of food (courtesy of Jumin's private chefs) for Jaehee. His girlfriend was already sitting up in bed and using her phone by the time he got back and noticeably brightened once she noticed what he was holding.

"For you, my lady." Gently setting them down on the side table closest to her, he grinned as she leaned upward so he could kiss her cheek. His grin widened at the little gasp she made when he decided to go for her lips instead. "Miss me?" Circling the bed and sitting down next to her, he noticed she was responding to her emails regarding the cafe, which was set aside in favor of the breakfast he'd brought her.

"Of course. Thank you for getting this for me." Zen knew Jaehee was very unused to accepting gifts or even affection from others and he was glad that Zai would be back with them soon, because, as much as he loved Jaehee, he knew that he couldn't provide that same kind of endless optimism that awoke the self-confidence in their mutual girlfriend. She had been working so hard lately and he was incredibly proud of her.

Although they'd known each other for a while due to their involvement in the RFA, Zen had never noticed just how strong Jaehee was until Zai brought it up to his attention. She was always handling Jumin's various, and often ludicrous, requests, plus balancing her work for both the fundraising association and her own job while still finding the time to be there as a support for the rest of the members. Truly, Jaehee deserved more credit than she earned, and Zen wanted to be there to see her succeed. She was older than him, yes, but that didn't mean he couldn't help her stand up when she needed him!

While trapped in his own thoughts, he didn't notice Jaehee watching him with a fond look on her face. While taking another sip of her coffee, she wondered how she'd gotten so lucky in life.

"For some reason, I feel like today is going to be a good day." Zen jolted lightly and turned her way.

"What makes you say that?"

"I don't know, just a feeling."

❤︎ Day 16 - 08:21 AM ❤︎

It had been a while since Zai had woken up early, but even though she'd got up before the sun had been able to breach the tree-cover, Saeran was already up and commandeering her laptop from his spot at the kitchen island. She knew he noticed when she'd slid into the room because he had sent her a quick look of acknowledgment before lowering his head once more to focus on the screen. It wasn't until she pulled her seat up next to him and slid a mug of his favorite tea in his direction that he responded more actively. She made a small noise of surprise as he pressed his lips against her jaw before taking a sip of the drink.

"So, what are you working on?" When she leaned over to look at the computer screen, it was covered with rows of colored text. "Coding?" Glancing at Saeran in surprise, she saw him tense up and tried not to think of any bad reasons for why he would be using her laptop to hack. He gave her a withering look but relaxed once he realized she wasn't going to jump to any conclusions until he'd explained himself.

"Uh, kind of?" He typed in a few more lines before pushing the device aside and lifting his mug back up to his face. "I set up some rudimentary defenses on the house's network the other day when you first gave me the laptop, I was just checking on them." Looking to the side, she noticed him rubbing his wrist where that ridiculous spiked bracelet of his once was. "You didn't think I was doing something illegal did you?" Zai balked.

"Oh! No no no! I just-" Frowning, she tried to find a way to correct her assumption. "I don't understand any of that technical stuff, so I can't really tell what you're doing. I trust you not to do anything too terrible." Was that better?

"Nothing too terrible, huh?" Zai turned even paler.

"I didn't mean-! I know you'd never- stop that! You're messing with me!" Saeran had started grinning in the middle of her babbling and now she was lightly shoving his face away while he held in his laughter.

"Oh no...you're living along with a scary hacker...how terrifying."

"Your sense of humor is atrocious."

"Sorry, clown was my second career choice"

"What was the first one?"

"Master of sarcasm." Zai was trying not to giggle but Saeran's deadpan expression was making it really difficult. Unfortunately, the atmosphere was ruined when notification noises started coming from her laptop. Pulling it back in front of him, Saeran stared at the screen critically. "Well, that's weird." Letting out a breath to try and regain some normalcy, Zai leaned over to his side.

"What's weird?" She couldn't understand anything on the screen, but she trusted Saeran to tell her what was happening.

"Someone's apparently been trying to break into the network since yesterday. The diagnostics just caught them, but they haven't been making very much progress." He narrowed his eyes at the screen and Zai was almost scared by how wrong the expression looked on his usually calm face. "Still, that means someone's gotten on our trail. I might be able to hold them off for a while, but this laptop isn't really geared for work like this. They'll find us eventually." Zai's heart skipped a beat as she felt something like terror settle in her chest while she tried to steady her breathing.

"You...you don't think it's the RFA is it?" Although she wanted to see them, Zen and Jaehee and everyone else, again, the very thought of being confronted by them was almost enough to make her lungs stop functioning entirely. "Seven is a hacker, he could probably break through in a few hours if he wanted to. Oh no, ahaha ha..." Zai felt like everything was spiraling out of control as the world shifted and then she was being held by a pair of strong arms, looking up into Saeran's concerned and panicked eyes while he scanned her face.

"Z-Zai!? Are you okay?" She smiled blearily at him.

"I'm sorry, it's my fault. Jamming must have dialed one of the RFA members when he grabbed my phone yesterday." The tears started flowing almost immediately afterward as she clutched desperately at Saeran's shirt, searching for something to ground her. "I can't- I can't do anything right! I can't even protect the people I love from myself! It's my fault they got hurt in the first place! Why do they want me back so badly!? I hurt them, I hurt them!" She was outright sobbing now, big fat tears rolling down her face. Saeran had no idea what to do in this situation, so he just settled for holding and listening to the girl currently curled up against him on the kitchen floor while trying his best to ignore the parallels this situation had with another one of their conversations.

"I-I wish I could tell them everything, but who knows if they'll even believe me! I did so many terrible things that they can't remember. I don't deserve their love. They don't deserve someone as awful as I am-"

\- _POV: Saeran Mode -_

Saeran snapped.

Lightly gripping the side of her face, he pulled her up to lock eyes with him.

"Shut up! What are you saying? I haven't heard someone spout this much nonsense since _Rika_!" That got the desired effect.

"Don't compare me to her!" Zai snapped back, a fierce expression on her face like he'd never seen. "I'm nothing like her at all! She didn't...She didn't care about them like I do. She didn't love them like I do!" Her tears hadn't stopped falling from her eyes, but at least she wasn't making such self-depreciating statements anymore. "Rika wanted to use them, I had to do what I did for their sakes. Even if- even if it hurt!" He had to admit, she was pretty when full of righteous anger.

"Yes, exactly. You had to do those things in order to keep them all safe. You told me you made mistakes, but that means you didn't repeat them again, right" She nodded wordlessly in response. "So everything you did before helped to prepare you for what's happened now. If you didn't take those routes before, maybe things might now have turned out the way they did." He pressed his forehead to hers and closed his eyes as his mind flew back to when she'd started crying the moment she realized just what had happened to him at Mint Eye. "Maybe I...wouldn't even be here." He felt her freeze in his grasp as his hands moved down to wrap around her middle.

"Listen, I know it's only been a few days, but I...I-!" He was choking on his own words. Stupid, stupid!

"Zai!" Screaming was how he'd gotten his emotions out in the past, so why not now? "Zai I love you okay!?" He felt like his heart was going to stop, but there it was, and now everything was out in the open. "You- you were the first person besides Saeyoung who actually cared about me, and you didn't even know me, not really. I...I tried to kill you! More than once! I can't believe you'd forgive me for that!" If it had been him in her place, he sure wouldn't have.

"Please, please don't regret what you've done. If not for their sake, then at least for mine." He tried to express as much love as possible in his eyes as he looked at her. "You _saved_ me, Zai. Without you, I might still be back in that place, working for that _woman_ , hating my brother and not having anything. No hope, no future, just a lifetime of servitude. You freed me from that place, and you didn't even ask me to repay you for it." He felt her hand unclasp from the front of his shirt to wipe the moisture away from his cheek. Shoot, was he crying too now? He nearly broke then and there, but he couldn't, not when Zai was indisposed like this.

"I'm not asking you to return my feelings, and I know we talked about this, but please let me be selfish this once." He buried his face in the crook of her neck and felt her arms reach around to hold him as well so they were embracing each other. "No matter what happens, with the RFA or anything else, I'll do my best to look out for you like you did for me. Whatever comes next, we can handle it together, alright?" He nearly held his breath as he waited for her reply. After a few seconds, he started getting nervous, but his worries were blown away by her enthusiastic response.

"O-okay...okay! Saeran, Saeran I love you too, thank you for staying, thank you for trusting me and believing in me." She was still crying, but from her tone of voice, he could infer that they were happy tears instead of 'my life is ending' tears. "Thank you so much, I love you, please hold me a little longer?" He had no problem with that request.

"Sure, whatever you need." He felt soft lips again his collarbone and tightened his grip around her just a little.

There was nothing he wouldn't do for this girl.


	36. The ZFA - Day 16 - Part 2

❤︎ Day 16 - 12:06 PM ❤︎

 _POV: Yoosung Mode_

As much as he loved Seven, watching him work had never been Yoosung's favorite pastime. The redhead sometimes got so absorbed in his job that he completely forgot about the outside world, his boyfriend included. Yoosung had stopped by the meeting room that had been dedicated to their work as the 'ZFA' several times within the past hour, and it hadn't looked like Seven had moved one inch at all. He was honestly getting a little worried. Earlier he had said that it would be easy to crack the security that was protecting the information for the network that Zai's phone had been connected to. Now it seemed like he was typing faster and _harder_ than he was before. Almost as soon as he'd had the thought, Seven stood up sharply and slammed his fist against the table, barely missing the computers he'd set up to do his job while at Jumin's. Yoosung jumped back slightly before running over to Seven's side, even more concerned at the other boy's reaction.

"Luciel!? What's wrong? Did you get in?" He reached out to touch Seven's shoulder but pulled back when he saw the stressed look on his boyfriend's face. A tense Seven was dangerous to be around, and he knew that from experience.

"No! That's the problem!" Seven sat down almost as quickly as he had stood up and all but growled at his screen. "I don't get it! It looked so simple earlier, but it's like someone is trying to keep me out! Every time I get close to breaking in, the algorithm changes and I have to start from scratch!" Seven's hair was naturally messy, but now it looked more disheveled than usual, with strands sticking out everywhere as though an enraged red porcupine was sitting atop his head. Yoosung swallowed anxiously before burying his hands into the thick locks and gently untangling the strands with his fingers.

"Please calm down, Luciel. You look worse than I do after a failed LOLOL raid!" He heard Seven's snort and held back the urge to smack his shoulder. So video games were his main way of showing examples, it wasn't like he had anything better to use. "If you lose your head now, you won't be able to focus properly! I know you can do it, Defender of Justice Seven Zero Seven!" Yoosung almost grimaced but managed to reel it in upon seeing how it rejuvenated his boyfriend's spirit.

"You're right, cutie!" Seven pulled him down into his lap and spun them both around in the chair to Yoosung's horror. "Aaaah, what would I do without you!? My boy comes through for me again!" Now if only Seven could do the same for him and _let him go_.

"Yeah! You're welcome! Now let me go! _Luciel_!"

❤︎ Day 16 - 01:09 PM ❤︎

 _POV: Saeran Mode_

Zai had fallen asleep in his arms a few minutes after her breakdown. Expending all of the emotional energy she'd been building up since day one in such a short amount of time must have exhausted her more than expected. Once he'd noticed the lack of tears and her steady breathing, he pulled off his jacket so he could wrap her in it before setting her down on the sofa. He had been working on shoring up the house network's defenses ever since. Now that he knew it was Saeyoung on the other side of his screen, it was easier to predict how the other would try to break into the system and subsequently, easier to counter his actions. Unless his brother did something unexpected, he might be able to hold him back for longer than he thought.

Glancing over at the girl sleeping across from him, Saeran felt his chest tighten. He could understand why Zai wanted to stay away. She was so full of guilt that she would rather isolate herself than risk harming the members of the RFA again. He knew that wasn't what she wanted, though. She knew it too, but would never admit it. If no one pushed her, Zai would most likely be content with staying far away from the RFA even if doing so caused her emotional pain. As someone who knew what it was like to isolate himself from the rest of humanity, Saeran couldn't say in good conscience that he'd let the same thing happen to her.

Double checking to make sure she was still asleep, he closed the window he was using to maintain the network defenses and pulled up a proxy instead. Zai had left her phone on the kitchen island where Jamming couldn't reach it, so he went to retrieve that too. Thankfully he'd never taken the mirror program he used to access the RFA messenger offline so it only took a few button presses to unlock the phone and a manual administrator code entry for the bootlegged app before he was in.

 _Unknown has joined the chat room._

/ **Unknown** : You'd think you would have patched this hole the second time around. /

/ **707** : OMG! /

/ **707** : How'd you get in here!? /

/ **Unknown** : Wouldn't you like to know. /

/ **707** : My foolproof system;; breached! ;;;;; /

/ **707** : Identify yourself, stranger! /

/ **Unknown** : I'm not that important. /

/ **Unknown** : But I heard that the RFA is missing a key member a few days ago. /

/ **707** : ... /

Quickly switching to the camera app, he snapped a quick picture of a sleeping Zai before uploading it to the messenger. Silently he hoped she would forgive him for this somewhat-breach in privacy.

/ **Unknown** : Perhaps this is her? /

/ **707** : That's... /

/ **707** : You. /

/ **707** : What did you do with Zai? /

/ **Unknown** : Who, me? Nothing. She's just a little tired out from our bonding time ^^ /

/ **707** : You're sick. /

/ **Unknown** : Maybe I am, but she's been doing a pretty good job of helping me get better. /

/ **707** : What? /

/ **Unknown** : I'm giving you a one hour window, genius. /

/ **Unknown** : If you want her back...I'd work quickly if I was you. /

Logging out of the messenger, he removed the app from the phone and re-opened the console window. Just as expected, he could see the lines of code sweeping by faster than before. Leaning back with a sigh, he noted the time and settled down to wait.

"It's all up to you now, brother..."

❤︎ Day 16 - 01:31 PM ❤︎

 _POV: 707 Mode_

It was not in Seven's nature to panic blindly, but under the circumstances, he could say that he was a little freaked out. He was typing at speeds previously unknown to man while his eyes scanned the screen. The man he'd seen in the traffic camera photo of Zai...It had been the hacker. She'd looked so relaxed in his presence, laughing even, but it was possible that he was threatening her to look normal in public so no one suspected anything. And the photo he'd been sent. Zai was obviously staying with the hacker if he was able to take such a candid photo of her, and the photo wasn't old because none of the furniture or its surroundings matched the ones from Rika's apartment.

The more he thought about it the more nervous he got. Had the hacker forced her to fake her death in order to hurt the RFA? At this point, he was willing to believe anything. Unfortunately, he had less than an hour to crack through the security system and it seemed like the walls had been reinforced once more before he'd been given the all clear.

"No, no no no! Work, work! Come on, I know I got that right!" His throat felt rough and he could feel moisture gathering in his eyes. He couldn't fail Zai again, but at this rate, he wasn't going to make it. "Please, please... I can't let them down, not like this!" Slamming his hands into the keyboard, he dropped his head and noted the tears falling onto his glasses as he did his best to hold in a choked sob.

"Zai, I'm sorry...I didn't-" His words were interrupted by a noise, and he looked up at the screen to see, "Access...granted?"

Seven's cheer echoed through the whole building.


	37. The ZFA - Day 16 - Part 3

❤︎ Day 16 - 03:57 PM ❤︎

 _POV: Jaehee Mode_

The entire 'ZFA' had received a message from Seven a few minutes ago, but when they reached the room where he'd set up his work, they were graced by the sight of their resident hacker in a total frenzy. His fingers were darting across the keyboard like miniature rockets, and even Yoosung looked a little surprised at his boyfriend's urgency. Upon noticing his friend's arrival, he stood up and the group was graced with the brightest smile ever.

"So," Seven turned the screen of his main monitor so it was facing them. "Guess who got satellite coordinates to the place where Zai's phone last called from!" On the computer was an image, obviously taken from space, of an almost invisible house located in the middle of a dense forest.

"Y-you really found her!?" Jaehee wasn't used to getting her hopes up, but at this point, she would take anything she could get if it meant she and Zen could see Zai again. "Luciel please, tell us where she is!" She could feel Zen's grip on her arm, grounding her. He was almost as tense as her, but she could tell that he was holding on to his self-control with everything he had.

"Just give me a second... There!"

"Uh, dude, not all of us can read longitude and latitude."

"What? Well, maybe you should learn! Anyways, who's coming with me?"

Jaehee felt Zen pull her forward and subsequently catch her before she fell on her face.

"Us! We have to go!" Zai was theirs, it just made sense that she and Zen should go with Seven. On the other hand, Zai was also their party planner, and it wasn't fair to the rest of them to be stuck waiting for them to return or call with news.

"W-wait, there's something else you should know before we leave..." Seven's cheerful expression quickly vanished and was replaced with a serious look.

"Can't you tell us later? We've been waiting this long-!" Jaehee tugged on his sleeve sharply before he could finish.

"Yes, we've waited this long." She tried to give him an encouraging look. "So, we can wait a few minutes longer. I want to hear what he has to say." It wouldn't do them any good to rush into things without having all the information. Seven shuffled nervously as they all took a seat. Jumin had brought V along too and was quietly explaining the situation to him. Yoosung took his customary seat right next to his boyfriend and was now doing his best to encourage Seven to talk about what was obviously something important that had to do with Zai.

"Okay so..ah.. this is harder than I thought..."

"Just say it all at once!"

"Seriously?"

"Whatever it is, it won't stop us from going to get Zai, right?" She tried to keep the nervousness out of her voice, but was finding it more difficult to do so the longer Seven went without answering them.

"Um... 'kay then. I," Seven took a deep breath, and Jaehee could see him clutching at Yoosung's hand tightly. "I received a tip from the person who hacked into the messenger before. They reduced the defenses on the closed network for an hour so I could get in, then they uh, they sent me this picture." He brought up the image of Zai asleep on an unfamiliar couch and Jaehee gasped. There was a light cracking noise coming from her side, and she was surprised to see Zen squeezing the armrests so hard that minute fractures appeared beneath where his fingers were pressed into the plastic. Jumin was speaking rapidly with V in hushed voices, but she wasn't paying attention to that right now. Zai was along with someone who was a stranger to them who might be dangerous, who might be aiming to harm her. Terror flooded her chest.

"I have reason to believe that the hacker is the same person as the one I got in this traffic cam shot last night." He brought up another photo of what looked like Zai laughing along with someone else who had their head turned. Seven locked eyes with her and Jaehee could see the tension in his face. "To be honest, I don't know what we'll find there. Whoever the hacker was, they must have wanted us to go. It might be a trap. I wasn't about to let you and Zen run in blind without knowing what's at stake." The very idea of possibly leaving their girlfriend (was Zai still their girlfriend? The thought was almost enough to make her cry.) in danger was enough of a reason for Jaehee to still want to go. They'd waited long enough.

"Luciel. We're going." She could feel Zen jump at her declaration and felt his hand slip into hers. She squeezed it in what she hoped was a comforting gesture. "Zai is...she is possibly the most important person in our lives besides each other. We'll do anything to get her back, hacker or not." She stood and Zen rose with her, the determination and hope in his gaze were mirrored in hers as well.

"She's right. Nothing is going to stop us, not when we're so close!"

"Well, you can't say I didn't try to convince you! It's about a three-hour drive, so you should get ready now. We're not going to be stopping for a while." Seven looked over at the couple still talking under their breath. "Hey, Jumin."

Lifting his head, Jumin glanced in their direction.

"Yes?"

"Can I get a ride back to my place? I gotta pick up one of my babies for the trip!" Jaehee tried to stop herself from grimacing. Apparently, the only way they were going to get to Zai was by riding in one of Seven's high-speed death traps.

"I suppose. I'll have Driver Kim come around the front."

"Thanks!" Pulling Yoosung up and out of his seat, Seven pressed a noisy kiss to his lips before dragging him out the door. "Let's go cutie!"

They could hear the undignified cries of the youngest member of their group as he was hauled away by the excitable redhead. Jaehee almost felt sorry for him. However, she was too busy worrying about Zai to pay the two of them much attention. She let Zen guide her back to their room so they could get ready for the retrieval mission while her head raced with thoughts.

"Please just hold on a little longer, Zai. We're finally coming for you."

❤︎ Day 16 - 05:22 PM ❤︎

 _POV: Saeran Mode_

Saeyoung's presence had vanished from the system a while ago, meaning that he had found the hints that Saeran had 'graciously' given him. Namely, the satellite image of the house he'd managed to get and also the coordinates for their current location. He knew that it was only a matter of time before they arrived, but he wasn't really looking forward to it. He knew that Zai had already confirmed his place in her heart, but at the same time, it was hard to shake off the feelings of anxiety and jealousy when you were raised to believe that you didn't deserve _anything_. What if she decided to give him up the moment they came for her? Although, Zai's own feelings of guilt had led to her not even thinking about herself as being in a continued relationship with Zen and Jaehee. In her eyes, she didn't deserve them at all. That wasn't what he wanted.

Zai had been sleeping a lot recently. Back when he was still monitoring her progress from Mint Eye, he'd noted her as being an early riser. Her quick start that morning was unusual, but after crying in his lap for nearly half an hour, she'd fallen asleep once more. He was seriously worried about her mental state, and that was saying something considering his own mind was probably in the lowest tier in terms of stability. Zai had pushed herself to her limits both physically and emotionally over the past two weeks and that wasn't even taking into account all the things she'd been doing in her previous resets. He could speak from experience in saying that living the same days over and over was _exhausting_. Especially if you could never remember more than a few things that happened. Although she was awake and busy in the kitchen right now, Saeran knew that the moment they were done eating dinner, she'd wander up to their bedroom and collapse before sleeping until noon tomorrow.

Sighing, he did one last check on Zai's laptop to make sure that everything was in order before relocating himself to the kitchen, Jamming at his heels.

* * *

Dinner was a simple meal made from mixed vegetables and stir-fry chicken. Zai was absently picking at her food while Saeran occasionally slid pieces of meat off the countertop to where Jamming was waiting below. So far, she hadn't noticed him doing it even though he was making no attempts to hide it from her at all. Reaching over to rest his hand on her arm, his eyes filled with concern.

"Hey, you doing okay?" She looked at him with the most tired eyes he'd ever seen on her face.

"Saeran...do you think I'm doing the right thing?"

"What do you mean?" Facing away, she absently pulled on the rim of her sleeve.

"I mean, is it really okay for me to come back into their lives like nothing ever happened? What if they still want to be in a relationship with me? I don't know if I could handle that, I think. I still feel terrible about the whole thing with me blowing up _her_ apartment and pretending to be dead..." She bit into a carrot and sniffled lightly. "Now they're coming here and I haven't even tried contacting them to tell them that I'm okay. I bet they all think you kidnapped me and held me hostage or something." Her words might have been funny if it were not for the seriousness of the situation at hand. Why was he so bad at comforting people?

"If it makes you feel better, I know for a fact that my brother will be with them when they arrive, and we haven't seen or heard each other in person for over a decade." A choked noise came from Zai's side of the kitchen island, and for a split second, Saeran thought he might have killed her.

"B-brother! Seven is your brother!? Why am I just now hearing this?"

"I told you about my brother four days ago. Saeyoung, remember?"

"Yeah but I didn't know that was Seven's real name! I always thought it was Luciel ever since he and Yoosung started dating!" Saeran assumed it was only fair that it was his turn to nearly die via. accidentally inhaling a piece of chicken upon hearing that statement.

"Wait, they're dating?" Zai laughed. He didn't think that he could ever get tired of that laugh.

"Now we're even. But yeah, they've been together for a while now. Or at least, I think they have. They never really confirmed it in front of me." Her words were wistful, and Saeran was once again struck by the realization that even though it had only been just over two weeks since she took up temporary residence in Rika's apartment, Zai had known the RFA for months, if not _years_ in total. His heart ached for the girl who was willing to die and _had_ died, for the people who believed they'd only just met her recently.

"As an answer to your first question, though, I don't think you're doing the _wrong_ thing. Really, you're just doing something new for once. Whether or not that results in something good or bad really depends on you, doesn't it?" It wasn't really in his nature to act like this, or maybe it had been, back when he was younger, but he didn't remember it now. That didn't mean he wasn't going to do his best to help Zai, though.

"I guess you're right. Besides, it's not like I can take it back. Even if I could reset at this point, I wouldn't want to." Even as she spoke, Saeran could see her struggling to stay awake. Sliding his plate to the side, he got up to move over to her side of the island before placing one of his arms under her knees and pulling her up against his chest as his other arm cradled her back.

"Wh- what!? S-Saeran, why?" She looked panicked for a scant moment but settled back down almost immediately afterward. "Mmm...you're warm." Tamping his blush down, he started for the bedroom.

"You look like you're going to pass out at any second. I'm putting you to bed, you need rest."

"Aww, that's so sweet... Will you read me a bedtime story too?" That got a laugh out of the both of them.

"Don't push it. I'm going to put the food away." He set her down on the mattress and pressed a light kiss to her temple. "Promise me you won't stay up too late?"

"Yeah, yeah, relax momma hen." Zai sat up and began fishing around in her drawer for a set of pajamas. "Are you going to come up when you're done?" Saeran's thoughts flew back to the group that was surely approaching their residence as they were speaking, then back to the girl sitting in front of him.

"Actually, I think I might stay downstairs tonight." He tried not to think about how quickly her face fell at his response. "There's some stuff I want to check up on, but if I finish early I'll come up, okay?"

"Mmmkay... Night 'RanRan."

Saeran couldn't hide how flustered he became at the sleepy nickname, but thankfully, Zai was already half asleep and he was out the door by the time she had finished. Taking a breath to steady himself, he made his way back to the kitchen as he tried to remember where Zai hid the rope she'd used to restrain him on his first day here.

❤︎ Day 16 - 11:40 PM ❤︎

 _POV: 707 Mode_

It's almost midnight by the time Seven, Zen, and Jaehee arrived in the city closest to the house's location. Using some of the pocket change (Just _how_ many zeroes did you write on this check?) Jumin had given them, the trio rented a room with two beds and called it a night. They had been driving for hours and Seven was already exhausted from a short argument he'd had with Yoosung just before they left. His adorable boyfriend had wanted to come with him and had been adamant about helping before Seven reminded him that he was neither fit nor a master in judo. The dejected look on his face had made it hard for him to want to leave, but eventually, they'd packed into his sleek black sports car and headed off.

Now it was bordering on ridiculously late and all he wanted to do was sleep. Zen and Jaehee were curled around each other like a pair of lovesick squids and the sight of them only made Seven long for Yoosung even more. Sliding out the door as stealthily as possible, he exited the building and sat at the curb before pulling out his phone and dialing the familiar number.

"...Hello?" Even just hearing his voice was enough to put a smile on his face.

"Hi, cutie! What are you doing up so late?" There was a faint laugh from the other side of the line.

"Listening to you, apparently. Why aren't you asleep?"

"We got here late, so we're waiting until morning. Zen and Jaehee are being too lovey-dovey! I miss you so much!" He was whisper-shouting, and although the area was mostly empty, one or two passers-by still gave him odd looks as they crossed the street.

"Oh, well then you should get some rest! You're all going to get Zai tomorrow, right?"

"Yeah, or at least try to anyway."

"...Luciel?"

"Mmm?"

"Promise me you'll stay safe. We don't know if the hacker is really dangerous or not. You could get hurt..."

"I know, but I'm sure we'll be fine. After all, Zen and Jaehee have the Defender of Justice on their side!" It wouldn't do to let Yoosung know that he was nervous about tomorrow too.

"Saeyoung..." He froze. "Just...Just come home safe to me, okay? Do your best, and bring everyone back if you can."

"Yoosung I-" Running his free hand over his face, he pressed against his eyes from beneath his glasses. "I'll try my best..."

"I guess that's all I can really ask for, then." There was a sigh, then the soft sound of a body falling back against a mound of pillows. "Have a good night, sleep well! I love you." Seven's heart skipped a beat.

"I- I love you too Yoosung." The line disconnected and he let his head fall to his knees.

He couldn't make up for what he'd done in the past, but at least this time he wouldn't run away from his failures. Zai or no Zai, he was going to do everything he could to return to his boy.


	38. The ZFA - Day 17 - Part 1

❤︎ Day 17 - 05:53 AM ❤︎

It was still dark when a bleary-eyed Zai made her way down the stairs into the kitchen. Saeran hadn't come upstairs last night, and if she squinted, she could see his silhouette from where he was curled up on the sofa, her laptop set aside. Part of her wanted to go to sleep and never wake up again if it meant she wouldn't have to see the inevitable looks of utter betrayal on Jaehee and Zen's faces should they find the house, and subsequently, its inhabitants. She loved them, as well as the rest of the RFA. As for herself? That was a whole other story.

Reaching up on tip-toes, she fished out the bottle of sleeping pills she bought on impulse when she went out to buy tea for Saeran. Getting a glass of water, she tossed two of the pills back and washed them down before crawling back to bed. Despite all her hopes, she knew that the only place she would be getting a happy ending was in her dreams, and she was content to stay there for as long as possible.

❤︎ Day 17 - 08:01 AM ❤︎

 _POV: Saeran Mode_

When Saeran finally awoke, it was to the sensation of a long tongue and teeth against his hand. Jerking upward, he realized that Jamming had been nibbling on him as he slept. Giving the canine a pat, he strode uneasily to the closest sink so he could wash his hand off. Once clean, he climbed the stairs as quietly as possible and slid into the bedroom. Zai was curled under the covers, with the blankets pulled all the way over her head like a cocoon. Sighing gently, he did his best to get in without disturbing her before letting one of his arms cradle her waist.

This might be the last time he ever got to be with her like this, after all.

❤︎ Day 17 - 10:24 AM ❤︎

 _POV: 707 Mode_

Finding the house should have been easy since he had the exact geographical coordinates of the building, but somehow he continued to get lost the further they drove into the dense woods just outside the city limits. At one point, Seven was convinced that he'd driven past the same tree at least four times in a row. It was still early, but he didn't want to spend all day getting even further and further lost in the woods. He could sense Zen and Jaehee getting impatient too.

"So...does anyone wanna get out and walk?" They were on what might have been their eighth or ninth pass of that exact same tree when Seven stopped the car and gave a slow breath of frustration. "We're getting nowhere. I'm taking a break." All three of them climbed out of the vehicle to mill around absently.

"We better not be stuck here forever..." Zen sounded more nervous than he looked. "You know how to get us back to the city from here, right?"

"Uh, yeah I do. That isn't the problem. We should have found the house by now, but its like it doesn't even exist!" He dug his fingers into his hair and pulled. "I know it's here, I saw it on the satellite photo! So why can't I find it!?" Seven was a second away from slamming his head into the nearest tree before he felt strong hands settle on his shoulders as he was spun to face red eyes.

"Dude, chill. It's fine. So we haven't found the place yet," Zen shot him one of his magazine cover smiles. "That doesn't mean we won't eventually. Just relax and look at this rationally." Seven gave him a skeptical look.

"You're being unusually calm about this considering it's Zai on the line right now..." He could see Jaehee drifting away from the two of them in the background, searching absently.

"Yeah, well, losing my head isn't going to get us any closer to her." Zen was doing a pretty good job of hiding just how anxious he was feeling about the situation, Seven could tell. However, he didn't have any time to think on it any longer when Jaehee made a noise of surprise further away from them before beckoning them over.

"Zen! Luciel! Come look!" The two men shared a look before rushing over to her and following her gaze to...

"Is that...a house?" Seven rubbed the sleeve of his jacket over his lenses before putting his glasses back on.

"It looks like it." Zen blinked a few times before an awestruck expression overcame him. "Wow...! If I move over here I can barely see it- hey wait!" He turned to look at both Seven and Jaehee.

"Do you think that this is the place we've been looking for?" They all froze for a moment.

"Omg, you might be right."

"Did you really just say 'omg' out loud? Who does that?"

"I do, lololol!" Running back to the car, he jumped into the driver's seat and parked it directly under a cluster of trees so it would be harder to see. "Okay, all set! Who wants to go in first?"

Jaehee and Zen had a conversation with their eyes and Seven tried not to feel left out. Eventually, they came to a conclusion at the same time.

"You go first."

"Ahaha...I love you guys too..."

* * *

He was approaching the house as stealthily as possible. If he looked back towards the forest, he could see Zen and Jaehee peeking out from behind a tree, each of them showing him an encouraging thumbs up. His friends were so supportive. Upon reaching the front door, he realized that there was a passcode lock on the handle.

"Agh, good thing I always come prepared!" Pulling out his phone and one of his many, many emergency cords from the inside of his jacket, he plugged it in and got to work. "La la la, and I'm in!" The door unlocked and he made his way over the threshold before unceremoniously tripping and falling to the floor, a heavy weight settling on his back as the door closed behind him.

"Hey! What th- Hhrk!" A knee pressed down against the space between his shoulders, cutting off his cries. His arms were wrenched behind him and he choked on empty air.

"Quiet." He felt the slight sting of rope being tightened around his wrists as his apparent captor tied him up. "If you're too noisy you'll wake the sleeping princess..." Seven's breath hitched. This was the real deal.

"Y-you...Zai is really here..." There was a soft chuckle from above him as the weight pulled off his back and he was heaved upward.

"Of course she is. Where else would she be?" Seven hissed as he felt the friction from the rope as it dug into his skin. "With the RFA? How delusional."

"So what's this for then?" He glanced around the room before trying to get a look at the person currently pulling him along. He was dragged into what looked like a kitchen and the remainder of the rope was tied around a stool. "Is this what you're into? Sorry to disappoint, but I already have a boyfriend." The stranger made a disgusted noise.

"What? That's terrible. No. I just need to keep you out of the way for now." They finally turned to face him and Seven felt the air leave his lungs as he realized just how much they looked like- "Besides, your friends are going to be joining us very soon." They started to leave and the familiar feeling of panic started rising in his chest.

"Hey, wait-!" Looking back at him from the doorway, they grinned and lifted a finger to their lips.

"Shhh..."

After the door closed behind them, Seven shuddered before he slumped over, tugging at his restraints and testing their strength.

"Heehee...don't freak out...you've been in tighter spots before." Desperately trying to slow his rapid breathing, he began reciting binary in his head. As he sat on the cold tile floor of the kitchen, he did his best not to think about how his captor looked so much like his brother.

"Everything is going to be fine..."

❤︎ Day 17 - 11:31 AM ❤︎

 _POV: ZEN Mode_

Zen bounced his leg lightly as he and Jaehee watched the front of the house for activity. The outside walls of the building had a mirror-like effect that prevented them from seeing in, but Seven had gone inside over half an hour ago and now they were getting worried.

"...I'm gonna go in." Jaehee looked at him like he'd just said he wanted to quit acting.

"What? No, if you're going in then so am I." Zen's nails dug into the bark of the tree that they were currently hiding behind.

"Jaehee, if something goes wrong then someone has to stay behind and tell everyone back home." He released his grip from the tree and reached for Jaehee's hand. "Besides, I don't know if I could forgive myself knowing that I let something bad happen to you too..." Zen's voice wobbled and he watched as Jaehee faltered for a moment before her resolve strengthened.

"I feel the same way." Her brown eyes were practically on fire, and his heart nearly stopped when he saw the determination in her stance. "It hurt so much, losing Zai the first time. It would be unbearable if I had to experience it again with you as well. Please, don't do this without me." Zen's confidence wavered.

When they woke up this morning, the thing at the forefront of his mind had been the plan to retrieve Zai and get back home safely. Now, he was afraid of there not being anything left of them to return home at all. Seven hadn't called or exited the house with Zai after all this time, so they could infer that something had happened to prevent him from leaving the building. It was up to them to get both him and Zai out now.

"Fine, just know I'm not happy about it." He was pretty sure that the hacker's presence had something to do with Seven's disappearance. They would have to be on guard.

* * *

The original plan had been for both of them to enter the house at the same time, but as a precaution, Zen had gotten Jaehee to agree to let him go in first. That way, if something happened to him, she would have a chance to either help or run, depending on the circumstances. It was the closest compromise they could settle on, and Zen knew it was the best he could do to keep Jaehee safe, even if she was being so stubborn. Carefully testing the door, he found it unlocked, and beckoned Jaehee forward.

"You remember what to do, right?" He waited until she nodded in confirmation before turning the handle and stepping into the house. Everything seemed normal, so he moved in further slightly before noticing a movement to the side. There was a split second where molten gold met shimmering red before Zen was all but tackled to the ground while Jaehee made a noise of surprise. Looking up, Zen was shocked to see another man on top of him. He was definitely shorter than he was, but his size did little to emphasize the strength that was currently being used to keep him incapacitated. There was the faint noise of barking in the background, obscured by the sound of blood rushing in his ears as he realized that the person straddling his weight at the moment was...really cute.

"Haha...your friend fell for that one too. Are all the members of the RFA this easy to overtake?" His heart caught in his throat as the stranger, who was most likely the infamous hacker, leaned down into Zen's space, laughter in both his eyes and his smile. "Well, she was right about one thing. You do have pretty eyes." Something between a gasp and a squawk escaped his throat as the weight vanished off his legs and _when had his hands been tied together_?

"I- you...you think my eyes are pretty?" If he was being honest, this was _not_ what he expected to happen _at all_. First, he was being knocked to the ground by the person who had apparently kidnapped his girlfriend, and next they were flirting with him. He'd been so preoccupied with trying to process the situation that he hadn't even noticed Jaehee being held down by...a dog?

There was a large black dog with curly fur perched on top of his girlfriend's back, implying that it had snuck up on her from outside before pouncing. Zen blanched. His girlfriend was amazing at judo, but she couldn't fight _a dog_. He was pretty sure that counted as animal cruelty. Now she was getting the same treatment as him. Silently, he reprimanded himself for forgetting about the dog. The dog was the entire reason they were even here! _How had he forgotten the dog!?_ Gathering himself together, he tried to put on a brave face despite the circumstances.

"What do you want with us, and where's Zai and Seven!?" The mystery man grinned but shushed him almost immediately.

"Zai is resting right now. As for Saeyoung...Why don't you ask him yourself?" They were both tugged to their feet and marched into what was apparently the kitchen before being forced to sit down next to Seven, who looked up in shock at the sight of his friends.

"Zen! Jaehee-!" Seven's calls were abruptly halted when the other man, who looked a lot like Seven now that Zen could see them next to each other, snapped in his face.

"Hey...keep it down." After tying the two of them to the same stool as Seven, he backed away from the room, dog at his heels. "Try not to make so much noise, okay?" His face in the moment seemed so...innocent. Zen almost couldn't believe this was the same person who had just managed to capture three of the RFA's most physically capable members. The door closed and the trio was left in the dark.

"Well...that happened." Sighing in disappointment, he let his head rest against one of the stool's wooden legs.

"At least we're in the house now." Letting out an amused breath, Zen tried to appreciate Jaehee's positive point of view.

"Yeah! Plus, if we're lucky, Zai will wake up and come save us!" Seven whisper-shouted into their ears, and even though he could barely see anything, Zen could tell that he was doing better now that they were all reunited.

"How'd he get the drop on you, Seven?"

"He snuck up behind me and pinned me to the floor."

"Same..."

"What about you, Jaehee?"

"The dog got me."

"Yikes, sorry about that. I should've remembered the dog."

"It's not your fault."

The three of them sat in silence for a while.

"So... our captor thinks you have pretty eyes, huh?" Zen sputtered and while Seven's faint giggles echoed through the room, he was secretly glad that neither of his companions could see the blush on his face.

❤︎ Day 17 - 03:08 PM ❤︎

Zai woke up feeling numb to the world and resolved to just lie in bed forever. Unfortunately, her stomach demanded sustenance, so she was forced to leave her safe haven and make the journey down the stairs and into the kitchen so she could make herself a snack before returning to the land of sleep. Saeran wasn't in the room, so she dressed quickly and stepped out of the bedroom. Descending to the ground floor, she was once again graced by the sight of Saeran on her couch, but with his head between his knees this time. A tendril of worry wrapped itself around her heart as she crossed the room to sit next to him.

"Saeran? Is everything alright?" He jerked upward the moment her hand came in contact with his shoulders but he relaxed the moment he saw her face.

"Oh. Zai..." She felt strong, yet gentle, arms wrap themselves around her waist to give her a comforting squeeze before he pulled away. "Sorry, I was just thinking about something. Did you sleep well?" Her thoughts immediately flew back to the reason she'd come downstairs in the first place.

"Ah, right, I woke up because I was hungry, but I guess it was okay?" She stood and started walking towards the kitchen. "Do you want me to make you anything? It's kind of late but we can have an early dinner. I think we still have some salad left from the other day-" Zai nearly jumped ten feet into the air when his hand shot out and grabbed her wrist.

"No!" Turning back to look at him, she could see faint traces of panic in his expression as he furiously tried to backpedal. "I-I mean, wait. You can't go in the kitchen right now."

"...What? Why not?" She tried to keep her voice level, but Saeran was acting weird. And not even Saeran Brand Weird. He was being just plain _weird_. "Did you make a mess or something?" He diverted his eyes to look at anywhere but her.

"Um, I guess you could say that?" Frowning, she continued on her way and found the door closed, surprisingly. "Zai- please don't!" Not heeding his warning, she pressed on the handle and cracked the door open a sliver so she could look inside, before opening it completely.

"Oh..."

On the floor, tied to a stool, were Seven, Zen, and Jaehee. They were asleep and had obviously been there for a while. This was...not what she was expecting. Spinning around to face her housemate, who was now wearing a rather guilty expression on his face, she pointed to the three people currently unconscious in her kitchen.

"...'Ran."

"...Yes?"

" _What the heck is this_?" Saeran flinched at the harshness in her voice and she instantly felt a little bad, but only a little. "Why are they tied up, and on my floor? Why didn't you tell me _when they got here_!?" Okay so maybe she was a little hysteric, she thought it was fair for her to be just a _little_ upset at the moment. Just what had he done while she was sleeping?

"You were asleep! I didn't want to wake you up when you've been looking so tired lately. You need your rest...!" He actually looked distressed at the idea that she wasn't sleeping enough, and thinking back on the past few days, she realized that she had been sleeping in more than normal, but still feeling absolutely exhausted anyway. What was up with that?

"S-still! That's no excuse for tying up my friends and keeping them in my kitchen!" Zai felt close to tears. Just what was happening to her? Hiccuping, she slid to the floor and felt Saeran's arms around her as she started crying. "It isn't fair...! Why couldn't they just stay away and leave well enough alone? I haven't even spoken to them yet and I'm already hurting them!" A hand came up the cup her cheek and she opened her eyes to see Saeran's own concerned-filled ones gazing at her.

"Zai, you know that isn't true. It's- it's my fault... I was terrified of them coming here because I thought they'd just rush in then take you away. If there's anyone to be upset at, it's me." Taking a few deep breaths to steady herself, she let Saeran ground her as she came back to her senses.

"Okay...okay... I can work with this." Looking over at the three who had somehow not been awakened by her rather noisy crying, she smiled weakly. "Can you untie them for me? I don't think we can move them on our own, but at least we can prevent rope burn." Nodding in agreement, Saeran passed her a pair of scissors and the two got down to work.

* * *

It only took a moment for them to remove the rope from their wrists, and she and Saeran had _somehow_ managed to get them to the living room without waking them. Zen and Jaehee were propped against each other on Zai's couch, and Saeran had his brother sprawled across a lounge chair. Taking a moment to see how he was doing, she noticed him watching the other redhead with a pensive look on his face, and moved to stand next to him once she'd gotten her (ex? she still wasn't clear on that front.) boyfriend and girlfriend situated.

"Hey..." She let her hand rest on top of his as she felt him start trembling. "It must be hard, seeing him again." Saeran laughed breathlessly before entwining his fingers with hers.

"It's been over ten years since we were last in the same room as each other," He rubbed his eyes with his free hand. "He didn't even recognize me. Do I really look that different?" She watched as he tugged lightly on his dark red dyed hair.

"I'm sure once you explain, he'll understand. It has been a long time, you know. You probably look a lot different than you did when you were a child." She gave his hand a squeeze. "Anyways, I'm starving, so what do you want to eat?" Saeran made a noncommittal noise as she headed back into the kitchen. In the back of her head, she remembered to actually _throw away the rope_ this time.

❤︎ Day 17 - 04:46 PM ❤︎

 _POV: Jaehee Mode_

Upon waking, the first thing Jaehee noticed was how dark it was. The second thing she noticed was the apparent lack of rope keeping her wrists bound together. The third thing she noticed was the fact that she was currently on a quite comfortable sofa, Zen's head in the crook of her neck, with his breath lightly tickling her ear with every exhale. Eyes scanning the room, she spotted Seven lying in a plush chair, his limbs haphazardly strewn over the furniture. She wanted to move, but that would most likely cause Zen to wake up.

Inhaling sharply, she did her best to move his head away from her shoulder and reached over for a pillow to keep him propped up. Standing, she listened carefully and realized that there were voices coming from the kitchen where they'd been held earlier. Obviously, someone had moved them, but Jaehee wasn't focused on that now as she approached the door. Lightly pressing her ear to the surface, she tried to focus on the words.

"-m just saying, it was really unnecessary. You should've just woken me up."

"Yeah well, it was impulse?"

"That isn't a real excuse!"

"I said I was sorry-!"

There was the sound of light scuffling and Jaehee pushed against the door a little harder.

"L-let go!"

"Nope! I've got to show you whose boss!"

"Didn't you already do that!?"

"It doesn't hurt to reinforce the message."

"You're having way too much fun with this."

"Someone has to teach you how to have a good time, 'Ran, and I'm the only one up to the task!"

In her attempt to listen harder, she hadn't noticed her arm pressing down on the door handle until it clicked open and she was _falling_. Jaehee narrowly caught herself on the doorframe but by then the damage was done. The door swung open wide and everyone froze. In front of her was the man that had captured her, Zen, and Seven, currently being held in a headlock by-

"Zai!" Her eyes snapped open wide as she released the redhead, who unceremoniously fell to the floor without her support.

"J-Jaehee! You're awake!" Rushing forward, she embraced the other woman in her arms, holding on to her for dear life.

"Zai! You're here! You're really here!" The tears were beginning to flow from her eyes. "We thought you were dead! Then I got that call from your phone and I- I'm so happy you're alright!" Jaehee couldn't bring herself to let go, and only tightened her grip when she felt Zai's arms wrap around her as well.

"I'm sorry Jaehee... I didn't want things to be this way, but there was an, um, change in my plans." Looking up at Zai, she wiped the moisture from her face as she pulled back slightly.

"Change in plans?" There was a groan from right next to them.

"Yeah, that would be me." Jaehee was reminded that the _hacker was there with them_.

"I- you! Why are you here!?" The man gave her a bored look as he stood.

"Don't ask me. I didn't have any say in it." He gestured over to Zai. "She's the one who decided to kidnap me." Turning back to face Zai so she could ask for clarification on what he meant, she noticed the guilty expression on her face as she withdrew her arms and curled into herself slightly.

"Jaehee...I'll tell you about it when the boys wake up. They're still asleep, right?" She nodded absently, wondering why the other woman had retreated all of a sudden. "Okay then. Are you hungry? I can fix you something."

Watching warily, Jaehee saw the man huff with frustration before moving to exit the room.

"I'm gonna go take Jamming for a walk, Zai. Be back later." He pulled up the leather jacket that had been formerly hanging from his elbows up to cover his shoulders and grabbed a leash that had been hanging from the wall on his way out.

"Don't stay out too long!" She called after him before returning to her place in front of the stove. "You'll have to forgive him. He doesn't really like being around other people." For some reason, Jaehee didn't quite believe that.

"He seems quite alright being around you..." Her words got a nervous laugh out of Zai.

"Yes, well, when you spend a week living with someone, you get used to them."

"Is...that what you've been doing? Just hanging around here and letting us worry instead of coming home?" She tried to keep the accusatory tone out of her voice, but it still _hurt_ , knowing that Zai had been safe this whole time they were heartbroken over their loss. "Why didn't you tell us? Why did the apartment-" Jaehee stilled when she noticed the tremors in Zai's stance, as though it was taking everything she had to keep herself from collapsing.

"Jaehee, I promise you, I will explain everything later, okay?" Zai gave her a watery smile, and Jaehee's heart ached. Just what had happened to her? "Please, I can't do this right now. Just let me focus on cooking. After 'Ran gets back and when Zen and Seven wake up, we can all sit down and just...talk." Her voice nearly broke on the last word, and Jaehee took that as a sign to stop pressing. As she sat down and watched Zai cook, she thought about how surreal their current situation was, and wondered why she and the rest of the RFA had never noticed the pain that their party planner had kept just below the surface.

❤︎ Day 17 - 06:12 PM ❤︎

 _POV: Saeran Mode_

As he walked along the edge of the house clearing with Jamming pulling him along by the lead, Saeran's head was a rolling storm of thoughts. If his internal conflict was bad before, then it was beyond terrible now. Today's events had confused him, but beyond that, they'd scared him as well. He was afraid for his relationship with Zai, but also Zai's relationship with Zen and Jaehee. He knew now that she had never truly planned on reuniting with the rest of the RFA just to keep them safe from _herself_ of all things. But apparently, her decision to rescue him from Rika had required an additional sacrifice in the form of blowing up the apartment as well. Being Mint Eye's sole hacker, in losing him, the organization would be without their most capable member, as well as their only field agent.

Zai's idea had effectively put them off Rika's radar forever. She would think them dead, and with Saeran gone, she would have no other way of spying on the RFA, and therefore, no way to know they had survived. If he knew that woman, and he really wished he didn't, then he knew that she was probably pulling their organization further underground. Her paranoia would prevent her from making any attempts at outreach for a while, and that would give the RFA time to regroup.

Sighing, he turned to look at the house where he'd spent the last week, with just the barest sliver of light giving away its position from behind the mirrored walls. It was the first real home he'd known his entire life, and the girl who had shared it with him was his first real friend ever since Saeyoung. Thinking back to the situation at hand, he wondered just how he was going to maintain his relationship with Zai if she decided she wanted to pick up where she left off with Zen and Jaehee. It wasn't even the idea of jealousy that made him nervous. He was surprisingly okay with the idea of her dating all three of them at the same time, but what if they didn't want him and Zai to be together? What if she decided she would rather be with them and leave her behind? If his worst dreams came true, what would he even do? Or, rather, what could he do, besides accepting it? These notions plagued his mind as he numbly followed Jamming across the property.

Saeran had told himself that there wasn't anything he wouldn't do for Zai, and he couldn't go back on a promise like that even if he made it for himself. That meant, if Zai wanted to leave him behind, then he'd be fine with it. On the contrary, if she wanted to stay with him, he would be more than fine with that too. And if she wanted _all three of them_? He took a moment to steady himself while Jamming sniffed at a pile of leaves. If Zai wanted to be with him, Zen, and Jaehee all at once, he could handle that. His breath came out in shutters as he inhaled the evening air. Lightly tugging on Jamming's leash, he started directing the canine back towards the house at a relaxed pace.

Now that he had that all worked out, he could focus on his other problems. Namely, his strange reaction to the silver-haired actor, and his impending true reunion with his brother.


	39. The ZFA - Day 17 - Part 2

AN: Hi, everyone! Welcome to the second-to-last chapter of Breaking the Cycle! Now, before you get mad at me, I'll list a warning for Panic Attacks because one happens in this chapter! If that's something you can't handle, I suggest skipping over the entire portion of Zai's POV after the section break (5th paragraph).

* * *

❤︎ Day 17 - 07:22 PM ❤︎

 _POV: ZEN Mode_

Zen was yanked into consciousness by an overenthusiastic Seven who had been shaking him awake for at least a minute. In his frantic movements, he nearly ended up punching the redhead in the stomach. Thankfully, it didn't come to that, but only because Seven had really good reflexes.

"W-what's going on? We aren't tied up anymore." Rubbing his eyes and glancing upwards, he could see that although Seven was much more relaxed than earlier, he was still on edge.

"I don't know, I woke up on that chair over there." He gave a slight groan of discomfort. "My back hurts, but at least we aren't dead or maimed!" Zen gave him a _look_.

"That's one way of putting it," Scanning the room, he noticed a very important someone missing. "Hey, where's Jaehee?" Seven made a distressed noise.

"I don't know that either! She was gone when I returned to the realm of the conscious. You don't think she's being tortured do you?" If looks could kill, Seven would have been dead in that instant with the power of the glare that Zen was giving him.

"Don't say that. I'm sure she's fine. Let's go back and check the kitchen," He pointed behind him to the place where they'd been dragged to before. "Maybe she's still there?" He started moving before waiting for a confirmation, but he heard Seven scramble after him anyway.

"You know, have you thought about what you and Jaehee are gonna do in case Zai doesn't come back with us?" Zen paused for a split second before resuming his determined stride.

"No, because she's definitely coming home."

"...What makes you say that?"

"Because there's no way I'm letting her stay here."

"And whose decision is that to make?" Zen ceased his movements as Seven stepped forward to place a hand on his shoulder. "I'm just saying, you might have to be prepared for the possibility. For all we know, she left of her own free will. We just don't understand why. But the reason might not be something you'll like." Circling to face him, he realized that there was something else to Seven's stance. Just what had rattled him so badly earlier?

"Honestly? I don't care. Maybe she won't want to come back. In that case, I'll stay." Attempting to keep his voice steady was more difficult than he thought, but he wasn't an actor for nothing. "You know me and Jaehee confessed our love for each other and Zai together, right? But Zai...never said anything like that in return. I wondered if it was because she didn't feel that way at first, but now I think it's because she was trying to distance herself from us in a way. She tried so hard to be close and far away at the same time, and I couldn't understand it. But I get it now." Heart steeled, Zen turned in the direction of the kitchen.

"Zai is more insecure than we first thought. She put us- the RFA -first, and didn't think about herself. I have to show her- I _want_ to show her that I care, that I can be committed to her and Jaehee in a way that will keep them from feeling so anxious about whether or not my feelings are real or not. I _love_ them, Seven, and I'll do whatever it takes to express that if need be." It was hard keeping his voice down and still being so emotional, but he'd done it. Seven was looking at him as though he'd just spoken in a completely different language.

"I guess I can kind of understand what you're saying..." He chuckled lightly. "But, _wow_. I didn't expect you to be so fired up about it. Whatever. Lead the way, sleeping beauty!" Count on Seven to kill the moment. Zen huffed and resumed walking. They stopped in front of the kitchen door and shuffled their feet.

"So...you open it."

"Do I have to?"

"It's _your_ girlfriend who might be inside, so _you_ open it." Zen winced and pressed down on the handle lightly before peeking through. To his surprise, the light was on, and as he opened it, he was greeted by the image of Jaehee amicably talking to the person who had tied them all up, while girl they'd spent nearly a week looking for stood next to the stove smiling and nodding along to their conversation.

"Zai!" He couldn't help himself, he was just so _thrilled_. "You're okay!" Her eyes widened upon meeting his and she hastily set aside her cooking utensils so they could rush to meet each other, his arms finding their place around her waist at the same time he felt hers around his shoulders. He couldn't swing her around in this space, so he settled for picking her up and savoring the sweet sound of her laughter instead.

"Hyun!" She giggled as he set her down, and she looked around him. "And Seven too! Looks like everyone is here." There was a sadness in her eyes that he couldn't place, but he was too overwhelmed with the feeling of finally being reunited with her that he didn't pay it too much attention. She stepped over to the slightly-familiar redhead who had taken them down earlier and squeezed his arm. "I'd like to apologize for what happened to you three, on 'Ran's behalf. He wasn't thinking straight about the situation earlier, and I wasn't awake to stop him. I'm very sorry you all had to experience that." She bowed her head and the man (Ran?) followed her example, although reluctantly.

"It's fine. I mean, we're not dead or maimed, right?" He could feel Seven's eyes boring into the back of his head as he tried not to fidget.

"Yes, well, that doesn't mean it was appropriate. So, I made dinner for everyone! Then we can, uh, talk." Ran slid his gaze over in her direction and gently pulled his arm out of her grip.

"I'm not sharing my ice cream with them..."

"What?" Zen wanted to know what that had to do with this conversation. Zai, however, just smiled and returned to her place next to the stove to finish plating whatever it was she had been cooking before they entered the room.

"You don't have to, so stop worrying." She gave him a fond look that made his chest tighten uncomfortably as he sat down next to Jaehee, who was now wearing a pensive expression on her face. Neither of them noticed the haunted look in Seven's eyes as he took the only remaining seat available, right next to the man who, nearly eight hours ago, had them all tied up on the floor of this very same room.

Once Zai had all the food ready, she set the remaining dishes out on the table before moving to leave the room. Zen half stood as she had her hand on the door handle, surprised by her actions.

"H-hey wait! Aren't you going to eat with us?" He hoped the panic in his voice wasn't as obvious to everyone else as it was to him. She looked a little startled but quickly masked her expression with a strained smile.

"It's okay, go ahead and start without me." She opened the door and lowered her head. "There's just something I have to do first." Zai closed it behind her and everyone sat in silence for a few moments. The atmosphere tense like a taut line, or it was until Seven tried sliding an entire dish of breaded chicken toward himself.

It dissolved into chaos after that.

❤︎ Day 17 - 08:00 PM ❤︎

Her breath came out in soft puffs of condensed air as she sat on the back step of the house, Jamming in her arms. She pressed her face into his soft fur and tried to steady her breathing. Zen and Jaehee and Saeran and _Seven_ were all in her kitchen right now, probably having a standoff, and here she was outside, having a minor anxiety attack. Her dog whined softly as he shoved his cold nose into her cheek. She giggled in response and scratched him lightly behind the ears.

"It must be pretty easy, being a dog. You don't have to worry about being in love with three people at once. And you definitely don't have to worry about explaining the reasons you have for faking your own death." Sighing, she let herself fall back against the floor, exhaling sharply when her shoulders met concrete. "Sometimes I wish I never downloaded that app. I might have a job right now. Maybe I'd be getting ready to move to a different country. Perhaps I'd be in love with someone else..." She chuckled mirthlessly. As if that could ever happen. The RFA had wound themselves so deeply into her heart that she couldn't imagine a life without them.

"I'm so afraid, Jamming." She threw an arm over her eyes and focused on the sensation of chilly night air entering her lungs. "They're all waiting on me. I can't let them down, but I've done that so many times in the past. What's stopping me from doing it again?" Trick question, she already knew why. The inclusion of Saeran in her plans, the development of closer, better relationships within the RFA itself, they were all reasons for why she just _couldn't_ bring herself to regret her actions up to this point.

"You know...I'm probably overthinking this. They love me, right? I mean, they must, to have kept searching and come all this way for me. Why didn't I ever tell them that too?" Sitting up to look at her dog, who had lied down next to her, she gave him a gentle pat on the head. "Do you think I'm worrying too much?" She got a lick to the palm as a response. Laughing, she stood and made her way back inside with Jamming following closely.

"Yeah, you're right. I just have to be honest with them, and everything will be fine."

* * *

When she finally got to the kitchen after washing her hands clean of dog residue, Zen and Seven seemed to be having an eating contest while Jaehee and Saeran tried to be as silent and distant as possible from the two of them in order to avoid drawing their focus. At least half the food had already been demolished, and Zai was glad she'd decided to cook a little extra, because it didn't look like they were going to be having leftovers.

"I'm back! It's good to see that you guys didn't destroy the place, at least." Heads snapped up at her appearance, and Zai smothered her laughter with her hands as she got an eyeful of Zen and Seven with their cheeks packed to capacity. "That isn't a very flattering look for you, Hyun. Try not to choke." Seven made a strangled noise of amusement while Zen tried to swallow _carefully_ and Jaehee preoccupied herself with making sure they were both alright. Saeran perked up noticeably once he realized she was back and she sent him a comforting look as he beckoned her over to his side.

"Zai, I found another chair for you in the storage closet." Grinning, she took the seat right between him and Jaehee.

"Thank you, 'Ran." Beneath the table, she could feel him slipping his hand into hers and she laced their fingers together smugly. Instead of eating, she simply watched the people gathered around her table fondly. Her anxiety was mostly calmed down, but not before it had chased her appetite away. "Has everyone been getting along?" She leaned over in his direction to try and mask her words somewhat.

"Uh, yeah I guess. Saeyoung has been looking at me strangely since he got here, though. You don't think he's onto me, do you?" There was a note of uncertainty in his voice, and Zai was about to reply when someone else spoke up first.

"Hey, what are you two whispering about over there?" Seven suddenly leaned into their space and Saeran reared back, a mixed expression of what seemed to be both anger and fear painted on his face. Zai fixed a neutral look upon her face as she matched Seven's challenging visage.

"Just talking about how nosy you are." She saw him flinch back and Saeran ease up on the tension just a little.

"Oooh, so cold. But really, what is it? We're still waiting on an explanation, you know." Now it was Zai's turn to flinch. Her hand was gripped even tighter as she squeezed back before sitting up.

"You know what? You're right." She cleared her throat lightly to get the attention of Zen and Jaehee. "I should stop stalling... It's time I told you all the truth." Although she'd tried to psyche herself up for this confession, having all their eyes on her only made the claws of fear in her chest pierce deeper. But, she had to do this for them, or there would be no fixing what she'd already broken so many times in the past.

"Do you all remember the incident with the chat breach that happened two weeks ago, today?" There was a round of nods, Saeran's a little stiffer than the others. "Well, I suppose you could say that was the catalyst for all this..."

"What? Weren't you scared out of your mind then?" Zen looked a little uncomfortable, and so did Seven.

"Yes, but it also opened my eyes, in a way." Lowering her gaze, she focused on the warmth flowing from Saeran's touch. "It made me realize some things I didn't understand before. Like the fact that even though I was in danger from being involved in the RFA, he," She gestured towards Saeran. "Was as much of a victim as I am, if not more so." Now everyone looked decidedly unsettled by the direction the conversation had turned.

"Can you...clarify a bit more on that?" Zai hadn't heard Jaehee's voice in such a soft-spoken manner for what felt like ages, and her heart twisted at the thought of being responsible for it.

"I. ah, it really isn't my story to tell, but I can say that they, Mint Eye that is, used him like a tool to further their organization. Once I started thinking about it, the more I wanted to help. Unfortunately, the only option I had to save us was to do something really drastic." The room went silent at the mention of Zai's previously-assumed death. The claws buried themselves in even further.

"Y-you have to understand...that it was never my intention to hurt any of you..." Stay focused, _stay focused_. "I did what was needed and I couldn't afford to let myself doubt my decisions, or we both would have died. Please, _please_ , know that it wasn't part of my plan to leave you all until that day." Zai was cold and she couldn't feel Saeran's hand in hers any longer. Why was it so cold?

"But, on the day that I...the day I... left." She couldn't say it. "I wasn't- I wasn't planning on coming back. I didn't _want_ to come back." Her chest hurt, but she had to finish this. She owed them that much. Zen and Jaehee looked heartbroken.

"Zai what do you mean you 'didn't want to come back'? I- we thought you-!" Surprisingly enough, it was Jaehee who spoke up first. Zai wished that the floor would swallow her whole, or that even Rika herself would appear in the doorway with a gun and shoot her. Anything if it meant Jaehee would stop looking at her with such an expression of utter _betrayal_.

"It- it isn't because I didn't-! I mean I, I would have stayed if I could! But I had to leave, I had to stay away, to protect you! That's all I've ever wanted! To keep everyone in the RFA _safe_! You could _never_ be safe if I stayed!" She could hear her own voice cracking. She must have sounded so pathetic. "If they knew we were alive, Mint Eye would never stop pursuing us. I didn't want all of you to live a life where you had to constantly look over your shoulder or even dread leaving your house. Nothing would have stopped them except for the destruction of the RFA." Zen stood from his seat, tension running through his entire body.

"So you just made that decision for us!? We wouldn't have cared about all that if it meant we could keep you-" Zai stood as well and knocked her chair back, fixing him with an intense look.

"I know! I knew from the start! I couldn't let you make that decision because it _wasn't yours to make_ , same as all my other decisions! Every single one! Including the good ones, the bad ones," Her voice broke again. "The ones that I knew would shatter all our hearts at once..." She took a moment to compose herself. "They are mine, and I made them, and I accepted the consequences the moment I put them into action. I don't have the freedom to regret them." Zai could sense that Zen was gearing up to challenge her again so instead, she chose to continue instead of stopping.

"All of this? It was the least I could do for the people who made me feel appreciated and cared about for the first time in my life! I know you love me, and I," Zai held back a choked sob. "I love you both too...So, so much! More than I may ever be able to put into words." Her heart felt like it was going to explode. "Zen, that night on your roof? It was one of the best nights of my life. I'd never felt so loved before, I almost couldn't handle it. You and Jaehee mean so much to me!" Hot tears started streaking down her face, but she couldn't stop now.

"It's why I had to do what I did! Because you don't deserve someone like me! Someone who can never tell you the things she's done. Someone- someone who can never confess all her misdeeds even if she was given a hundred lifetimes to do so..." Zai wrapped her arms around herself as her breath began to speed up. She was so caught in her own whirlwind of emotions that she didn't notice the wide-eyed stares she was getting, or the look of horror Seven was giving her. "I'm so sorry! I failed you, I hurt you, and I can never take that back and I don't deserve to even be near you-!" Her nails dug into her sides and Zai could hardly breathe as Saeran rushed to stand, gathering her close and tucking her head beneath his chin as she sobbed openly. If they weren't all completely focused on her, they'd have missed her barely whispered words as she curled into his arms.

"...I hope you never forgive me..."

❤︎ Day 17 - 10:05 PM ❤︎

 _POV: 707 Mode_

Seven, Zen, and Jaehee had mostly finished cleaning the kitchen by the time that the other redhead had come back down after putting Zai to bed. She had collapsed from exhaustion shortly after her outburst, and the other man had taken it upon himself to get it situated, seeing as he was the only one who knew where anything in the house was located anyway. None of them really knew what to think about him despite the fact that he and Zai had obviously grown very close in their week spent alone together, and that apparently, this wasn't the first time such a meltdown had happened during that week. In fact, he had a hunch that she might have had one earlier before they'd all woken up outside of the kitchen, unbound and unharmed. Despite everything, he still couldn't help muttering under his breath as he washed the dishes.

"I don't get why Zai let him look after her and not you or Jaehee..." Zen gives him a pained look and the dark redhead who looks uncomfortably similar to his brother almost _growls_.

"Shut up...I've known her for longer than any of you." Something about that rubs him the wrong way.

"Oh, so watching someone through a screen and threatening them continuously now counts as quality time? I thought you two enjoyed _bonding_ together." The glare sent his way is absolutely murderous.

"At least unlike you," He turns up his nose and Seven is once again reminded of the few times his brother felt strong enough to stand up for himself. "I don't run away from people, or my problems." The grip on the plate in his hand tightened.

"What would you know about how I deal with my problems?" If this guy had managed to learn that much about him, he was either psychic or an incredible hacker. But then again, he had been able to keep Seven out of his system for hours, while continuously breaking into his own code without leaving a trace. It was seriously frustrating! How was this guy so good at beating him?

"Because, I know how much of a coward you are. Always hiding behind your computer monitors and code and never really knowing how the outside world works. At least I had an excuse. I was never given a chance. You're stupid for willingly isolating yourself. You always have been, Saey-" In an instant, his bites his own tongue on purpose and Seven winces _hard_ because he can _see_ red starting to drip around his lips and _had his teeth gone all the way through_? He doesn't have time to think about it for long, though, because the other hacker is rushing out the door, hand over his mouth, red droplets marking his escape. Zen hesitantly put down the rag he was using to clean kitchen island down and made to follow him, but not before giving Seven a look of disgust. In turn, Jaehee came over to his side and placed a hand on his shoulder, disappointment in her tone.

"You know, you really shouldn't rile him up. He's been keeping Zai safe these past few days."

"Yeah, well isn't he also the reason she's in danger in the first place?"

"That may be true, but unlike us, he was never given a choice in the matter." Watching the door where the stranger and her boyfriend had vanished through, Jaehee's eyes filled with sadness, and Seven felt a little remorse at making things worse. "All those things Zai said earlier... they still hurt to think about. I'm hurting too, knowing that the woman I love had to endure all of that while I never noticed." The knife of guilt buried itself deeper in Seven's chest and he scrubbed the dish in his hand twice as hard to mask the feeling.

"One day, I hope Zai will accept our forgiveness, and that will forgive us for our mistakes as well." Taking her hand off his shoulder, Jaehee moved to pick up where Zen left off in cleaning the table. "In any case, we should all do our best to show her that we still care, and we can't do that by pushing away the only person who has been able to provide her some form of comfort this past week." Instead of answering her, he rinsed off the plate in his hand and set it aside to dry before reaching for another. At least this way, Zai would have less work to do when she woke up.

❤︎ Day 17 - 10:27 PM ❤︎

 _POV: ZEN Mode_

This house was much bigger than he first expected. Zen spent ten minutes just hunting down the ex-Mint Eye hacker and by the time he found him, the man was already shivering in the cold night air as he sat on the balcony while he held a blood soaked rag up to his mouth. Taking an unprecedented amount of forwardness, he swallowed his fears and sat down right next to the other man and wrapped his arm around his shoulder. His thick jacket covered them both, and with the two of them beneath it, the temperature was actually pretty nice. He was still given an uneasy stare as he settled himself.

"...What are you doing here?" Honestly? He didn't know at all.

"Stargazing, but I'm also checking up on you." Turning to face the man beside him, he realized that he was...a lot shorter than previously predicted. "You and Seven went at each other pretty hard, and it looks like you hurt yourself bad. I wanted to make sure you're okay." His face flushed red and he immediately ducked his head, setting aside the bloody rag.

"I'm fine. Riling him up has always been a talent of mine anyways."

"And by 'always' you mean...?" He gave a sigh, and Zen felt like he was missing something obvious.

"You know, I thought that someone else might have been able to get it, but it looks like that isn't going to happen." Lifting his head back up, he fixed Zen with an amused grin. "My name is Saeran Choi, and it's nice to finally meet you properly, Zen, or should I say, Hyun Ryu?" Zen choked on air.

"W-wait...hold on! You're telling me," He pointed at himself enthusiastically before using his arm to drag the other man (Ran...Saeran, man, he was really unobservant today) in closer. "That you, are related to _Seven_. And that Zai saved you from some creepy organization that basically used you like a puppet?" Saeran winced hard but nodded.

"That's a very... rough way of putting it. But yes, I suppose that is similar to how it went." Zen loosened his grip on Saeran's shoulder and leaned back on his free arm, tilting his head back to look up at the stars.

"Wow... _Wow_." Saeran gave him an almost indecipherable look.

"You aren't...mad at Zai, are you? For helping me, I mean. I did try to kidnap her, even if I failed terribly."

"Nah. She's a capable girl. All that stuff earlier? I just wanted her to let it all out so I would finally understand what I have to do to help her. I'm so proud of her for being so strong, but she needs to learn to take the same advice she gives us." Zen's heart still hurt from the outburst, but he undeniably knew that it had been good for her. She needed to let go of the negativity building in her for so long before she could truly begin to heal. "Things will be better from here on out." Saeran seemed unconvinced.

"Well, I wish you luck in helping. I've been doing my best to keep her grounded these past days but," He blinked way the tears from his eyes before they could form fully. "Nothing I do seems to have any lasting effect on her..."

"Actually, you've probably helped her the most out of all of us."

"...How?"

"Just think about it! Zai has felt like this for who knows how long...and none of us realized it." She'd torn herself up with guilt to the point where she didn't even want to be near them, but now they were guilty about not realizing she was struggling. "You've been able to understand her feelings better than we have, so I'm glad that you were here, to help her where we couldn't." When he turned back to Saeran, his seemed on the brink of tears. "H-hey now...don't cry. I can't handle anymore crying!" Saeran hiccuped lightly before a genuine smile appeared on his face.

"I'm not- I'm just thankful. Zai means a lot to me. She told me all about you, and I guess somewhere along the line...I wanted to mean a lot to you too." Zen's cheeks lit up, and he was suddenly glad that it was dark out. "I'm happy...I'm really _happy_." Saeran pulled his knees up to his chest and sighed gently. Zen smiled absently and moved a little closer, wrapping his jacket further around the two of them.

It was a nice night out.

❤︎ Day 17 - 11:39 PM ❤︎

 _POV: Jaehee Mode_

After the kitchen had been thoroughly scrubbed down and the dishes dried and put away, Jaehee noticed the time. Seven had vanished somewhere with his phone, but she wasn't concerned about him as much. Zen hadn't returned after he'd followed the other redhead (...Ran, was it?) out the door in the wake of his minor squabble with Seven and if she was being honest, she was somewhat anxious because of it. It seemed that her worries were unfounded, because when she finally exited the kitchen, she saw the two of them coming inside from the balcony door on the second level. Zen's jacket was draped over the other man's shoulders, and they were smiling as they spoke. She couldn't make out their words, but at least they were getting along. Ignoring the sudden twinge in her chest at the sight, she called out to them.

"Zen, it's getting late, we should sleep." His eyes snapped to her and he waved enthusiastically.

"Hey, Jaehee! I have no idea where the bedrooms are so..." Ran moved to pull on his sleeve.

"It's okay, I know where they are. Let me get you two some covers first. " He ran down the hallway still wearing Zen's jacket, and Jaehee made her way up the stairs to meet with her boyfriend.

"Is he doing alright? He seemed quite distressed earlier." Zen's arm fell over her waist and she couldn't help the soft flutter of delight that rose within her chest.

"He's fine now. I learned something pretty interesting about him, and we had a nice talk."

"Hmm?"

"Oh, well it's not something I'm at liberty to share, but I'm sure you'll get a kick out of it later once he warms up to you. He's not at all like I expected." Jaehee hummed and closed her eyes as she felt their foreheads press against each other.

"What were you expecting?"

"I don't know, but definitely not him. He's...soft. All that stuff earlier was posturing, I think. Weird posturing."

She opted to just take in his embrace instead of responding, and the two of them simply stood there, enjoying each others presence until Ran returned with a pile of blankets and pillows in his arms.

"Here." He dumped the entire stack into Zen's waiting arms. "I got some extra pillows," His eyes darted between them both. "In case you wanted to sleep in the same room. It's just down the hall, on the right. There are some spare pajamas in there too." As soon as he'd finished speaking he was racing away and disappearing inside another door. Jaehee took some of the pillows off the impressive stack Zen was now carrying as the two of them made their way to the room.

"...You let him have your jacket." Zen blinked owlishly at her.

"Yeah, I did. He's a lot smaller than me, and we were sitting outside. Didn't want him to get cold."

"Mmm..." She was trying not to let her thoughts run away from her, but when Zai had been speaking earlier, and just now when the two men were conversing. It seemed like those most important to her were rapidly developing an interest in someone new.

"What is it, Jaehee?" Zen stepped a little closer to her side and she gravitated towards him in turn. "You're not jealous, are you? We just met today..." She blew out a sharp breath. Of all the times for Zen's perception to be better than normal.

"It's just...Zai and him, they seemed quite close today, yes?"

"They have been staying in the same house together for a week, so I'd assume that much."

"And you aren't worried about...?" Zen opened the door for her and the two of them entered a bedroom suite that was more luxurious than either of them had experienced before. After taking a moment to appreciate the view, they started arranging the blankets and pillows on the bed, with Jaehee still waiting for an answer.

"You know, Jaehee, love isn't like cake."

"I- what?" She paused in her folding at his words. "What do you mean?"

"When you have a cake, you only have so many slices, and if you cut them too thinly then people can't really appreciate the cake for what it is. Love isn't like that. It's more like an ocean. Sometimes it's warm and comforting, or it's cold and empty, but you never think about the ocean running out of water, right?" He spoke patiently and Jaehee nodded slowly. It was an interesting way of explaining, but it was working so far.

"Giving people your love is kind of like refilling their cup. Except you're not giving them salt water obviously. There's enough to go around for everyone, and even if someone brings...say a pitcher, or even a _bathtub_. There's still plenty of water left. So no, I'm not worried about Zai running out of love for me, or you for that matter." Ducking her head, she tried to tamp down the blush on her face as she took in Zen's words.

"It's just quite unusual behavior for you. You're usually very possessive." He laughed nervously before continuing.

"She's already proved that she has enough of love to give to everyone in the RFA, not just us. Zai gives freely and doesn't expect much back." Zen gave her a hopeful smile. "I think it'd be fine if there was someone else besides us who could help refill her cup too." As soon as he was done, he returned to straightening the sheets out while Jaehee moved to retrieve the set of nightwear that had been placed in the room before their arrival. Once they were dressed, they curled up together beneath the blankets, and Jaehee tried not to think about how much nicer it would feel with Zai in between the two of them.


	40. The ZFA - Day 18

AN: Before I finish this, I'd just like to say THANK YOU so so sosososo much to everyone who's stuck with me these past 2 months! My little fix-it fic which was supposed to be only about 60k words at the max has become a total monster, but I'd never trade this experience for anything! This chapter was supposed to be up much sooner, but I accidentally deleted half of it and got stuck trying to rewrite everything :C Thankfully, that's over and done with! So without further ado, here's the last chapter of Breaking the Cycle!

* * *

❤︎ Day 18 - 12:01 AM ❤︎

 _POV: Saeran Mode_

Truthfully, he didn't know what to expect the moment he opened the door to his and Zai's room. Maybe she would be asleep, maybe she would be crying again, he was going in blind, essentially. Turns out, she was neither of those things. Once he'd closed the door behind him, he'd realized that she was awake, staring at the ceiling with a neutral expression on her face. Moving slowly, he settled himself on top of the covers and relaxed against her side, letting one of his arms rest across her waist while the other curled around her head so he could gently stroke her hair.

"...It's late. You should be sleeping." She made a noncommittal noise and rolled over to face him.

"I could say the same to you. Besides, I have too much to think about..."

"Like what?"

"Like how I completely ruined everything earlier by losing it and then collapsing in your arms like a child." She squeezed her eyes shut and Saeran lightly knocked his forehead against hers.

"Stop beating yourself up about it. I should've helped you. This isn't some sort of punishment that you can just take upon yourself you know."

"I do..." She sighed and extracted her arms from beneath the covers so she could wrap them around his torso. "That doesn't mean I don't feel bad about it. I keep messing everything up."

"Zai...How many times do I have to tell you it isn't all your fault?" He pressed a kiss to the corner of her mouth and pulled her in closer. "You told them the truth. That's what matters. Nothing is ruined because of you."

"I'm sorry. I just feel terrible for some reason. I don't want to be this way but I don't know how to stop..." She sounded close to crying again and Saeran wrapped himself around her as though she could shelter the girl in his arms from the outside world.

"For once, don't worry about us." He hummed into his next kiss and her sigh of contentment spurred him on. "You've been doing that for so long already. It's our turn to look after you now. So just take it easy these next few days without having to try and play mediator."

"If you say so, Saeran." She snuggled further into his arms and relaxed.

"I hope that one day, you'll realize what you truly mean to everyone." Shifting so he could pull up the blankets around them both, he kissed her once more before settling down to sleep.

❤︎ Day 18 - 06:00 AM ❤︎

 _POV: 707 Mode_

"What on earth is going on over there?" Seven was anxiously reading and listening to the several messages that Yoosung had sent to him over the day. He'd been quite preoccupied as it was, so he hadn't gotten the chance to send his cutie a reply. Now he was getting worried as the intensity of each message seemed to increase exponentially the further down the list he went.

 **/ Yoosung** : Hi Luciel! I know you're probably busy but I just wanted you to know that V is going in for his eye surgery today! /

/ **Yoosung** : Maybe if you get a chance to read this you could wish him good luck? /

Then some somewhat bad news.

/ **Yoosung** : So, uh, Jumin has been talking with the doctors for a while now... /

/ **Yoosung** : Apparently, they can't fix V's eyes all the way. /

/ **Yoosung** : But! They can make it so he can see properly with prescription glasses! /

/ **Yoosung** : It's not a complete solution, but it's better than being totally blind, right? /

The next message was by voicemail.

"Hey, Saeyoung? Is everything going okay for you? You haven't sent me anything all day and I'm starting to get worried. I hope nothing bad came up. I really hoped you'd be back by tonight, but it looks like that isn't going to happen. I'm trying not to be too worried because I know you're capable of looking after yourself, but Jaehee and Zen are with you too, they might get distracting. V is out of surgery now, though! The doctors expect him to be out of recovery as early as tomorrow! Isn't that great? Anyways, I'm a little hungry so I'm going to get something to eat. Stay safe! I love you!"

Then another.

"Uhh, hi! Did you guys find Zai yet? It's okay if you haven't, but Jumin is starting to get a little worried. Also, the hospital staff said we can't stay overnight so we've got to go back to Jumin's place in the meantime." There was a pause. "Please be okay."

And finally...

" _Saeyoung!_ " Yoosung's panicked voice almost made him leap into a standing position. "I don't know if you've been getting my messages, but something happened at the hospital and Jumin left without me and _I don't know what to do!_ " There were several seconds filled with only sharp breathing, and Seven's chest ached with the realization that he hadn't been there to comfort his boyfriend in his time of need.

"I'm not saying you should leave without Zai but... I- we need you, Luciel. So come home soon!" The message ended with a beep and Seven let his hand drop to his lap as he stared at the time blinking mockingly at him on the screen.

As soon as everyone was awake, they were going to need another talk.

❤︎ Day 18 - 09:15 AM ❤︎

Zai wasn't planning on waking up so early, but Saeran had pulled her out of bed and helped her get ready for a day with a whirlwind of movements that left her stunned and disoriented all the way to the kitchen. Her mind was still catching up with her body as she handed him ingredients with methodic movements that made her look more like a robot than a young woman. Saeran, with an uncharacteristic amount of patience, tolerated her slowness while carefully mixing everything together.

She was so out of it that she doesn't even notice Zen sliding into the kitchen until his arms were around her waist, prompting her to jump with a squeak. If it weren't for his well-trained reaction time, she would've hit him right in the nose. At her other side, Saeran, the double crosser, was laughing under his breath as he poured pancake batter and fruit into a heated pan. Spinning around in Zen's grasp, she set her hands against his midsection, pressing lightly.

"Zen! I could've damaged your precious face!" Saeran was nearly doubled over the stove with giggles and Zen's hands retreated from her middle so he could cough into his palm.

"N-no worries, Zai." Both men were only a little ways off from outright laughing and she didn't know whether she should be upset or laughing with them. "It'd take a lot more than a tiny headbutt to damage this perfection." She could see the tip of Saeran's tongue sticking out, his face pinched almost imperceptibly into a mocking expression.

"I don't know... I'm a lot stronger than I look." After all, she hadn't thought that both she and Saeran would be able to carry him, Seven, and Jaehee to her living room on their own, but they'd managed it in the end. That had to count for something, right? Zen gave her a fond look, causing her face to instantly light up.

"Of course, you're very strong in several ways." His expression took on an apologetic appearance as he suddenly pulled her up against him. "Zai...I hope you can forgive me and Jaehee for last night." She stiffened in his grip, and out of the corner of her eye, she can see Saeran taking glances at the two of them as while he cooks.

"What do you mean? I'm the one who freaked out and rui-" A soft squeeze caused her to still as he nuzzles her hair.

"Shhh..." The room was filled with the sounds of flipping pancakes and the scrape of a spatula against a pan while Zai takes shallow breaths. Zen's hands were resting against the small of her back and she couldn't help but tremble involuntarily. "We pushed you too hard. You were already upset and we just made things worse. I'm sorry that you had to experience that." He spoke in a way that was careful and planned. He'd most likely been holding the script for these words in his head all morning.

"Zen it's okay, really." She tried to pull away and thankfully, he let her go, moving to stand just next to her. "I needed that. I probably wouldn't have gotten everything out if you hadn't tried." There was a buzzing in the back of her mind that she was trying to ignore, focusing on the sound of Saeran cooking in order to block it out.

"That might be true, but you were hurt anyway. I don't want anything like that to happen again." He was treating her more gently than he ever had before and it was taking a lot out of her not to reciprocate. "Next time, you have to tell us when you're feeling stressed so we can help you. There's no reason for you to try and force yourself to carry all our troubles on your shoulders. It's much easier when we all share the weight together, yeah?" She made a light sniffle before burying her face in his chest, his arms tightening around her.

"Okay...okay." Something in her chest fluttered at his words. "Thank you, Hyun."

"It's nothing, my darling!" Her cheeks immediately flushed with color as she withdrew, Saeran making a noise of amusement while grabbing the bowls of fruit she'd prepared earlier. Zen shot him a look before grinning mischievously. "Hey, you're not off the hook either!" Suddenly, Zen was speeding across the room and Saeran all but threw everything he was holding back onto the counter before he was swept up into a bridal carry by the taller man. Zai snorted at how easily he accepted his new position in Zen's arms, an expression of both excitement and apprehension on his face.

"Don't think I've forgotten what we talked about last night!" Saeran looked even more nervous then, squirming to try and free himself. "You've gotta tell Seven sooner rather than later. It's been...what? Ten years? When he heard the news from V about you vanishing into thin air he nearly tore my head off with a wrench!"

"That isn't my problem! If you're so bothered by it then you can tell him yourself." Zen set the struggling man down and watched him reluctantly return to his place next to the stove to continue his cooking.

"Oh, Saeran, you told Zen about-?" Taking a seat at the table, Zai snuck a few pieces of fruit from the bowls he'd left behind.

"Yeah, I figured it wouldn't hurt. But, we haven't exactly been getting along... He might not even want me after he realizes what kind of person I grew up to be." Frowning, she was about to refute his statement when Zen jumped back into the conversation.

"I don't know. When I talked to him the other day he was beating himself up about not being there for you. He was pretty convinced that you'd hate him. The two of you just need to talk it out." Then he stepped over to place a comforting hand on Saeran's shoulder. Zai jolted a bit at the sight. She wasn't feeling any jealousy, but the emotions rolling around in her chest were reminiscent of the night she'd spent with Zen and Jaehee on the rooftop. Popping a blueberry into her mouth, she could already see the beginnings of something forming between the two men in front of her. It was... exciting.

❤︎ Day 18 - 10:22 AM ❤︎

 _POV: Jaehee Mode_

Standing in front of the kitchen door, Jaehee didn't quite know what to do. She'd woken up to an empty bed and had taken her time getting dressed while thinking over the previous day's events. She'd be lying if she said that the thought of Zai replacing her and Zen hadn't been plaguing her mind ever since she was introduced to the strange hacker that had been sharing the house with her ( _Current? Former?_ ) girlfriend for over a week. Although she was making leaps and bounds to recover the self-confidence she'd lost under Jumin's employ, she couldn't deny the fact that her anxieties continued to hound her relentlessly in the face of uncertainties regarding her relationship with Zai.

Did the young woman still want them? Or had she found someone- _dare she even think it_ -better than Jaehee? That was what she was afraid of finding out. So here she was, frozen with apprehension, her hand halfway to the door handle. They hadn't spoken about their relationship since their reunion, but now Jaehee almost didn't want to bring the subject up out of fear for the worst. Zen seemed more or less unbothered by the presence of someone else with a possibly romantic connection with Zai, but she figured that had more to do with his own attraction to the red-headed stranger.

While opening the door, Jaehee thought about how she couldn't swim, when yesterday, Zen said that Zai's love was like an ocean. Upon seeing Zai's eyes brighten the moment she noticed Jaehee stepping into the room, all she could think about was that she would willingly dive into said ocean for the woman who had helped her so much in so little time. After all, there was a sea of love within her own heart that she would spill again and again if it would keep Zai by her side.

❤︎ Day 18 - 10:56 AM ❤︎

 _POV: ZEN Mode_

Zen was having the best morning of his life. After his short talk with Zai and Saeran, all three of them started to work on preparing breakfast together. There was now a small mountain of assorted fruit pancakes on the table in front of them, surrounded by a swarm of various toppings. The moment Jaehee walked in the door, Zai had beamed before running over to the other woman and embracing her. Jaehee had looked so overjoyed in that moment that Zen was worried she'd start crying. He'd had enough crying to last him several weeks, thank you.

"I'm starting to think we made too many..." Saeran sounded tired, which was fair considering they had been making pancakes for over an hour. "How are we supposed to eat them all?" Almost as if he was summoned by magic, Seven practically slid through the door, narrowly avoiding a collision with the wall.

"With my amazing skills in eating honey buddha chips, I shall conquer the pancake everest!" His eyes had a dangerous gleam in them, and there was a fork and knife in his hands- just where did he get those!?

"Hold on- wait!" Zen nearly tackled him, but Zai and Jaehee held him back.

"Let him go, you know we can't finish those on our own." Zai handed him a plate and his own set of cutlery. "We can appreciate all this hard work together, okay?" He nodded slowly before looking back at the table. Seven and Saeran were already seated across from each other. While Seven had a tiny hill made out of whipped cream covering his pancakes, Saeran had somehow pulled out an entire container of ice cream out of the freezer and was now piling on his fifth scoop before Zai virtually dove over the table to grab the spoon out of his hands.

"Haha...that's enough ice cream for breakfast." The dark redhead frowned slightly but conceded defeat anyway. He'd already gotten more than enough already. Zai, Jaehee, and Zen sat down and retrieved their food at a much more leisurely pace than the other two occupants of the room. While eating, Zen shot glances at Seven's face the whole time. He and Saeran even ate in similar ways. How Seven didn't notice any of it? He had no idea.

❤︎ Day 18 - 11:38 AM ❤︎

 _POV: 707 Mode_

Why was it so hard to speak up when everyone was having such a great time? After the immense (and really, there were a _lot_ of pancakes) breakfast, the group had taken to idle chatter. He'd even managed to avoid snapping at the rival hacker in the room. But, Yoosung's messages were concerning and he needed to address them sooner rather than later. Standing up from his seat, he tried not to worry too much about the outcome of the situation.

"So, uh, thanks for the food but, um..." All eyes were on him but the other hacker's stare pierced right through his outer armor and into his soul. It was unsettling. "I have to leave..." Then, everyone started talking at once.

Jaehee wanted more of an explanation on what he meant. Zen immediately started trying to convince him _not_ to leave. Zai's eyes were trapped, flitting between himself and the other hacker, who looked like he was going to be sick. If he listened hard he could hear the other redhead muttering ' _Not again, not again..._ ' under his breath. Just what was happening today to make everything go so sideways?

"S-seven can you please give us a few more details?" Although Zai's eyes were now on him, she was practically wrapped around the quietly panicking man with his head tucked against her stomach and her hands gently stroking his back. Shooting her an apologetic expression, he went back to his announcement.

"Yoosung called me last night about something urgent that happened while V was at the hospital recovering from his eye surgery," There were gasps from Zen and Jaehee, yet Zai and her companion were strangely silent. "He asked me to come back because Jumin left him without saying anything. I'm pretty worried about them all, considering I haven't gotten any more texts or calls from Yoosung, or Jumin for that matter. That's why I think it's best I leave while you four sort out," He made a vague gesture at all of them. " _Whatever_ this is that you're dealing with..." Everyone looked uncomfortable, but he was the master of hacking, not the master of tactful deliveries. Seven almost yelped when the man who had practically been curled into a ball suddenly stood and kicked over his chair. Seven tuned out Zai's cry of surprise as hands gripped the front of his jacket, pulling him forward.

"You can't leave! You don't-!" Gold collided with gold and Seven felt a shiver travel through his whole body. Just who was this person?

"Okay, okay! Why don't we all calm down now!?" Zai's voice was considerably more strained than it was a minute ago. Seven was unceremoniously released as the other hacker staggered back into her arms. Both of them seemed rattled. There was more to this situation than they were letting on.

"Seven? Sae- um," She cut herself off before gesturing to the redhead in front of her. "He has...something he'd like to say to you." The sting of irritation burned in his mind.

"Look, whatever problem he has with me, I'll deal with it when I get back but right now I have to go-"

"But, Seven!" A strangled growl clawed itself free from his throat as his hands tugged at his hair.

"What could be so important that I have to put off going to help V and Yoosung!?" This whole situation was more stressful than any mission he'd ever been sent on, but he attributed that to the emotional ties he shared with the people who currently needed his help. He was stretching himself too thinly, it felt like he was going to snap hard.

"Listen, Seven-" Zai was once more interrupted when a hand slammed into the table, rattling the used dining ware and forcing Seven to look into the eyes of the man in front of him. The eyes that reminded him so much of...

"Whatever. It doesn't matter anymore. Go do what you do best and run back to safety like a coward." He stalked towards the kitchen door unimpeded, with even Jaehee and Zen wisely staying outside of the conflict. Once the door was open, he stood in the entrance for a mere second. "You always were the dumber twin, Saeyoung." The door slammed shut with a flash of gold and red and then the world was _tilting_.

"Hey! No no _no_ , Seven!" He felt arms around his chest but his mind was full of static because there was no way, he was gone, he was gone but he was right there and the signs were in front of him this whole time how had he missed them? How had he not noticed? How how how _howhow?_

Suddenly he was on the floor and everyone was kneeling in front of him, concern painted across their faces.

"Dude...are you alright?"

"Luciel, if there's anything we can do to help?" Seven shuddered and turned away.

"N-no. Someone... Zai, _please_." The pitying look she gave him hurt, but not as much as the revelation from a few moments ago had.

"So you knew..." His vision was tunneling but there was nothing he could do as the realization set in. His brother was alive. His brother had been living here for a week and they were in the same house together and Saeran _hated_ him. "You knew this whole time." Was it just him or was the whole room shaking?

"I'm sorry, Seven. It wasn't my place to tell you." His breath caught in his throat. "Give him another chance. Yesterday he was terrified of how you'd react once he told you. I think you talking about leaving brought back some...unhappy memories." Well, that would explain _some_ things.

"Okay...I- I can fix this. I just need to-" Pushing himself up, Zen and Zai helped him to his feet. "Thanks. Any idea where he might have run off to?" Zai's face immediately lit up with recognition before changing to apprehension.

"Uh, yes. But you probably won't like it."

* * *

 _A dog kennel._

A useless structure meant to house beings that weren't cats! It was a true waste of potential. But Zai had said that this would be the place to find his brother, so he'd take her advice. True to her words, when he'd entered the small, secluded building, Saeran was sitting in a corner, a mass of black curls lying across his lap. Although he hadn't heard him enter, the dog certainly did. It leaped towards him with a speed that he definitely wasn't expecting and before he knew it, he was on the ground, trapped beneath a hundred pounds of fur and muscle. There was a soft laugh from the other side of the room and even though his chest was being crushed, the sound was enough to make him feel light.

"Jamming...get down. You might be smarter than him but that doesn't mean I can let him suffocate." The weight off his chest vanished and Seven managed to push himself back up into a sitting position, grinning as though he hadn't been pinned by a large dog just seconds ago.

"Whew, thanks bro!"

"Don't call me that." He beckoned for the dog, which returned to its spot beside Saeran almost instantly. "Why won't you just leave already? Isn't that what you're best at?" A twinge of regret thrummed in his chest and he all but crawled over to Saeran's side, ignoring the large canine resting his head atop his brother's legs.

"Saeran...C-come on...I just figured it out. You're right. I'm an idiot." He was trying to keep his voice steady but the stress was already catching up to him. "All the signs were right in front of me, but I didn't want to see them." Frowning, he looked down at his hands.

"I kind of understand Zai's reasoning better, now. Why she didn't want us to forgive her for her actions. I mean, I didn't want you to forgive me for mine either before Zen convinced me there were better ways to make it up to you." Sitting up, he forced himself to brighten if only for a second. "But you're here now, and we're both free! Isn't- isn't that the dream you wanted to achieve when we were younger?" There was a sniffle from his left and he realized his brother's eyes were swimming with tears.

"Yes, but I wanted to achieve it with _you_... Then you _left_ me. And now you're going to leave again." Head dropping, Saeran hid his face from sight and Seven was at a loss with what to do. "I wish you would've just kept away from me. You ruined _everything_." Scooting closer, he tentatively wrapped an arm around Saeran's shoulders, nearly collapsing with relief when it was allowed to stay.

"You don't mean that! I never wanted to leave you, but it was the only option I had to try and get you out of there. I thought V and Rika-" A hand was slapped over his mouth.

"Don't! Don't say her name. That woman..." He felt the faint trembling coming from his brother and pressed their sides together closer in an attempt to comfort him. "She did things to me. My memories...they're still not what they used to be. Zai started crying when she realized they were using drugs to manipulate me." Seven felt like he was going to be sick. He'd heard some of the details last night through Zai's confession, as well as during V's explanation about Rika, but now that he realized just what had happened to his own _brother_.

"Saeran...Saeran I'm so sorry you had to go through that. You shouldn't have had to. They promised me you were going to go someplace safe-!" His other hand pulled at his scalp roughly, fingernails digging into his own skin. "We should've run away together or- or something! Anything that would've kept you from-!" Once again his words were being smothered, but with two hands this time.

"Stop it. Stop. You're rambling." Leaning back, Seven tried to return his breathing to normal as he watched Saeran pet the dog while staring absently at the wall. "We were just kids and children hardly ever have the greatest plans. So, stop beating yourself up about it. What's done is done. All we can do is forgive ourselves and move on."

Watching his brother closely, he wondered.

"Does that mean you've forgiven yourself?" Saeran stilled.

"No...but, with her help, I'm learning how." There was no confusion on who he was talking about, but there was still the main reason why he came here in the first place.

"Look, Saeran..."

"Hm?"

"I- I want you to come with me when I go back." He got a wide-eyed stare in response.

"What?"

"I mean I want you to come home-"

"No, no, I get that part. I just don't understand why." Seven nearly jumped up from where he was sitting.

"Because you're my family! What other reason is there? Zai is coming too I bet. Zen and Jaehee aren't going to be just sitting in that kitchen with her and talking about the weather."

"I thought the RFA was your family." Seven withheld a groan of exasperation as he looked at his twin.

"Yes, but so are you. I just got you back and I don't want to leave you behind ever again. So come with me." He held out his hand and tried to focus so that he was only _marginally_ shaking. "I know I can't make up for all our lost time as kids, but we can do our best to build a better future, _together_." Saeran stared out his outstretched arm for a moment before looking back at his face.

"On one condition."

"...Yes?"

"We get to keep Jamming." Said dog barked in response to hearing his name and Seven hoped he wasn't grimacing too badly.

"Fine." Arms wrapped around his torso and suddenly his face was full of dark red hair. Once the shock was gone, he returned the embrace ecstatically.

"Thank you, Saeyoung." His vision blurred with tears as he tightened his grip on the man in his arms.

"No, thank you Saeran, for giving me a second chance at forgiveness."

❤︎ Day 18 - 12:19 PM ❤︎

After Seven ran off to reconcile with Saeran, Zai was left sitting on her kitchen floor with Zen and Jaehee across from her. Something about the situation was giving her deja-vu.

"So, uh..." Looking over at the two people next to her, Zai tried not to shrink back from their gazes.

"Zai is that other man really-?" Ever thankful to Jaehee for breaking the atmosphere, she turned to answer her question.

"Saeran? Yeah, he's Seven's brother." Jaehee looked a little nauseous.

"That means yesterday when you spoke about him being used by that organization..." Placing her hand over her chest, Zai watched her rub her eyes lightly, Zen placing his arm around her in a comforting gesture.

"I'm sorry... I misjudged him terribly, and all this time you two were together, you were helping him weren't you?" Reflexively wrapping her own arms around herself, Zai nodded. This was the conversation she had been afraid of. However, it turned out that her fears were unfounded when both Zen and Jaehee moved forward to embrace her.

"Zai! Please forgive me for thinking badly of you!" Withdrawing slightly, Zai and Zen looked at Jaehee with confusion.

"What? I don't-" Then she was once more being enveloped in Jaehee's arms, the older woman hugging her close.

"I was so afraid! That you would leave us- leave _me_ , because you found someone better. I'm sorry that I didn't trust you. I'll understand if you no longer wish to share that part of yourself with me." Zai half jumped and held onto Jaehee as well, tears budding in her eyes.

"No, no! I could never replace you or Zen, you know that! You're both so special to me." She moved back just so she could see warm caramel eyes, finally unobscured by the glasses Jumin had forced her to wear. "I don't want to ever think of a life without you in it. Jaehee, _I love you_!" The woman in her arms seized up and Zai tried not to panic. Had she been too forward? The buzzing in her mind started getting louder before she was jarred out of her thoughts by the sensation of a pair of lips crashing against her own.

Jaehee was kissing her.

Jaehee was kissing her on the lips of her own free will and _this was the single greatest moment of her life_ -!

It was much too short in her opinion, but they both came away from the kiss dazed and flushed with a smile on their faces. From the side, there was a frustrated noise.

"Hey now, don't forget about me!" Eyes snapping to the albino actor next to her, Zai's cheeks burned. "You'll still share your heart with me, right Zai?" Although his tone was light, she could see the worry in his eyes at the thought of her not wanting him anymore.

"Of course! We're a team, aren't we?" She scooted a little closer to him and watched the anxiety fall away from his eyes to be replaced with anticipation. "I love you too, Zenny." The kiss she shared with Zen was softer than the one she had with Jaehee, which in itself was pretty unexpected. That didn't mean she didn't thoroughly enjoy it, though. A sharp squeal broke their concentration and the two parted with a sigh. Zai could see Jaehee watching them, her hands folded over her mouth.

"I'm sorry, please continue..." Sinking back down to the floor, Zai was overtaken by a fit of giggles, with Zen and Jaehee following soon after. Once their laughter had subsided, all three of them stood and started cleaning up.

"So, I forgot to ask earlier, but if you still want to be with us, then what'll happen with you and Saeran?" Zen brought up the question when he brought her the stack of plates they'd all used for the pancakes and Zai assumed a pensive expression while she thought about it. From what she could recall, Saeran didn't seem averse to the thought of sharing her, but it would still be better to talk to him about it sooner rather than later.

"I- ah, actually don't know, but I'll ask him when he's done talking with Seven." A sudden thought popped into her head and the cold chill of anxiety made itself known. "Are- are you and Jaehee sure about this? I can't help but feel selfish for asking you two to share me with another person." Moving to her side, Jaehee pressed an abrupt kiss to her cheek while handing her the used cutlery. If Zai's hands weren't covered in soap at the moment, she would have hidden behind them immediately.

"Zen had a very good explanation for it last night that I believe he should repeat to you someday, but yes, we're quite sure. In fact, we're happy that you've managed to find someone else who can make _you_ happy, Zai. Even if your methods were somewhat...unorthodox." The last part was said teasingly and Zai couldn't help the warmth that spread throughout her body as she realized that her lovers (not ex-lovers!) had practically given their blessing for her relationship with Saeran.

Maybe, just maybe, things would work out between them after all.

❤︎ Day 18 - 01:47 PM ❤︎

 _POV: Saeran Mode_

By the time Saeran returned to the kitchen with his brother in tow, the place had already been cleaned thoroughly. Zai was sitting with Zen and Jaehee, while all three of them were drinking coffee. Stepping past the threshold, Saeyoung was the first to announce their arrival.

"We're back! Everything is going to be just dandy from here on out!" Looking up from their conversation with a snort, Zen faced his brother.

"Dandy? Who says that anymore?" He sighed fondly before his expression changed to a grin. "Anyway, I'm glad you two worked it out. Jaehee made coffee if you want some. It's on the counter." Out of the corner of his eye, Saeran could see two more mugs on the counter and he felt a pang of affection somewhere in his chest. _They'd remembered him_ , and the coffee mug was still warm when he picked it up. Climbing onto the seat next to Zai, he noticed her turn towards him with her arms spread open, an expectant look on her face. Setting his cup down, he let himself be drawn into a tight hug. However, It wasn't until he heard her emotional whisper in his ear that he understood why.

"I'm so happy for you two." She pulled away and wiped her eyes but let her hand move to hold his. Taking in her comforting presence, he let himself relax. When he took a sip of his coffee, he realized it was much sweeter than what Zai normally drank and gave her a questioning glance. Upon noticing his confusion, she turned back to him.

"You're wondering why it's so sweet?" He nodded. "Well, Jaehee made it for you! I told her that you like sweet things so she made that one special instead of copying mine like I usually do. I don't think I could handle all that sugar." Hearing her name, Jaehee glanced over to them and gave Saeran a comforting smile. Eyes flicking down to his cup, he took another drink and savored the taste. It _was_ sweet, but somehow still tasted like coffee and not just sucrose and tar. Truly, being a barista was Jaehee's calling. Shooting her what he hoped was a grateful expression, he mumbled a quiet thanks before returning his focus to his mug.

It was a somewhat dangerous thought to have, but he could get used to this.

* * *

Once they were all finished with their drinks, they had to return to the matter at hand. Saeran and Zai could no longer stay at the estate, but Saeyoung had a hunch that the RFA had become compromised back home. His bunker was safe, but it wasn't practical to try and fit everyone there while they sorted out the situation. This left them few options.

"Look, look, there's an easy solution to this! Saeran can stay with me and-"

"No. No, I'm not staying with you. I just agreed to go back with you. I said nothing about actually staying in your house." His brother pouted.

"But _Saeraaaaaaan_!" He dragged out the last syllable and draped himself over the table dramatically. Saeran grimaced.

"Please stop. I'm staying with Zai, wherever she goes." He said that impulsively and almost immediately regretted it. He'd seen how she had been looking at Zen and Jaehee when they'd come into the kitchen. They had probably already re-solidified their relationship with each other, but he hadn't gotten the chance to ask her what that meant for him. Jarred out of his thoughts by the feeling of warmth against his palm, he glanced down to see Zai's fingers entwining with his. Managing a small smile, he met her gaze eagerly.

"Yeah, Seven. We've been together for a week, you can't just split us up now." Her tone was playful and light, but also serious. "Plus, I doubt you'll be able to focus with both Yoosung and Saeran in the same building with you. What if they don't get along?" Saeyoung made an exaggerated gasp of horror.

"M-my cutie and my brother not getting along!? What a scary image! I'm sure they'll be fine together, though." He made a thoughtful hum. "Zen's apartment is way too tiny to house four people for an indefinite amount of time, and Jaehee sold her place. Where would you all even stay?" Zen, who had been mostly focused on listening, jumped in.

"We can't stay at Jumin's either. Too much cat hair and snobbery." Jaehee laughed into her hand despite the seriousness of the situation. Internally, she probably agreed, having been subject to working for Jumin for two years.

"Yes, Mr. H- Jumin might have a lot of space, but the close quarters would be too much to bear, regardless." Eyes drifting over to Zai once more, Saeran noticed the pensive look on her face and gave her a nudge. She snapped out of her reverie and focused on him.

"Saeran...how many details did Mint Eye keep on people?" He blinked once at the question.

"Just basic information, age, appearance, close connections. Why?" A sly look passed over her, causing him to shiver.

"So, I don't suppose they'd have something like...my old house address?" Everyone else at the table stilled as they realized just what Zai was implying.

"I think I might have skimmed over it back when I was looking you up a potential subject for the plan, but otherwise, I never bothered saving it since you would have ended up either in the apartment or with me." It was a glaring flaw in their recruitment system that Saeran was glad to have missed.

"This is great! Zen, Jaehee, and Saeran can all stay with me. My house is big enough, and assuming my parents haven't randomly come back to the country and sold it or something, it should still be in the same condition as I left it." Zai was beaming and Saeran wanted her to keep that elated expression for as long as possible. Standing up from the table, Zen grinned and helped Jaehee to her feet as well.

"Then it's settled! We'll hide out with Zai while Yoosung stays with Seven again, and Jumin can do... whatever it is he does in his tall, shiny building all day."

"Sure! Just give me some time to pack and we can be on our way." Glancing at the clock, Saeran tugged on her hand slightly to get her attention. "Hm?"

"Let's eat lunch first, though. It's a long drive and we've still got a ton of food in the fridge."

"Okay, new plan. Seven and I will go pack everything into the cars while you guys cook all the perishables. Sound alright?" There was a round of nods and Zai's smile came back at full capacity. "Great! We'll be back in an hour or two!" Giving her and his brother a wave as they sped out of the kitchen, Saeran turned to the other two occupants of the room and tried not to shake beneath their combined gazes.

"So...do either of you know how to cook anything that isn't pancakes?"

❤︎ Day 18 - 03:26 PM ❤︎

After nearly an hour of work, Zai and Seven had gotten most of the essentials packed into their cars. They both agreed to keep the car arrangements the same for returning as they had been when arriving, Jaehee and Zen with Seven, while Zai stayed with Saeran (and, by extension, Jamming). Once everything was put away, they sat down on the porch with dual sighs. Glancing over to the man at her side, Zai gave him a slight nudge.

"It's good to see you and Saeran finally getting along. I was almost afraid that you two would never make up." Seven exhaled sharply before a genuine smile crept onto his face.

"Yeah, me too. I just can't believe he's actually here." His eyes snapped back towards her. "How- how long did you-?"

"Only about a day or so. He talked about you, but I didn't know it was you we was mentioning specifically." The two of them sat in silence for a few moments.

"You know, I really should be thanking you."

"For what?"

"For saving my brother, for helping the RFA even though you've only been with us for a short amount of time..." Zai scoffed lightly before giving him a derisive look.

"Cut the act, Luciel. You and I both know it's been much longer than everyone else realizes." She could see him straightening out of the corner of her eye and knew her words hit their mark.

"So...you remember too."

"Sometimes. My memories aren't perfect." Leaning forward on the railing, she let out an exhausted breath. "It's a good thing I can't do that anymore."

"...The resets?" Seven seemed more confused than angry so she took that as a sign to continue.

"Yeah. They used to happen every eleven days or whenever I messed up." She looked down at her hands and tried not to fall back into despair. "I think they stopped when I threw my old phone away." The memory was still a good one. The feeling of the cursed device leaving her fingers and the satisfying _sizzle pop_ of it short circuiting were forever ingrained in her mind.

"In that case...we don't have to worry about dealing with this ever again?" Seven's words were guarded. She knew that he had noticed that she had something to do with the resets a while ago, but this was the only time they'd actually spoken about it directly.

"No, never. I never asked for that kind of power. I'm happy it's gone."

"Well, I guess that means I just have another thing to thank you for. I can't think of many people who would be willing to put up with me for as long as you have." She groaned at his teasing tone.

"Seven..." Although the subject was serious, his smile was infectious.

"Come on, let's go see what everyone else is up to." He was already halfway to the door by the time she was just getting up.

"Right behind you, as always."

"Just because Saeran and I are twins doesn't mean you can ogle my butt too. I have a boyfriend you know." Zai was glad she wasn't holding anything at the moment because she would have thrown it at his face.

"S-shut up!"

❤︎ Day 18 - 03:38 PM ❤︎

 _POV: Jaehee Mode_

It was only her second time being in close quarters with Saeran without Zai nearby, but for some reason, she wasn't having as hard a time being near him as before. Maybe it was because she had just reaffirmed her place in Zai's heart, but the look of unease on his face reminded her of herself just a few moments ago. Zai hadn't gotten the chance to speak to him before she disappeared with Seven to pack, so he most likely didn't have any idea on their feelings towards the situation. Quickly looking over to where Zen was standing in order to make sure he was still preoccupied with cutting vegetables, Jaehee stepped closer to Saeran while continuing her task of whisking the bowl of eggs in her arms.

"Hello..." She didn't know why she was so nervous now. But thinking back, she wasn't even certain if they had previously interacted with each other on their own. Regardless, Saeran only barely looked at her, nodding sharply in response before returning his focus to his task of frying rice.

"...Hi... " He gave her a pensive look. "Is there...something I can help you with?" His question caught her off guard and she nearly dropped the bowl, only managing to just catch it. When she looked up again, Saeran was staring wide-eyed at her. "Are you okay?" Setting the bowl down before she risked dropping it again, Jaehee tried not to come off as too sheepish while she straightened herself out.

"Yes, I'm fine, thank you." Sighing, she placed her hands on the countertop as well. "I'm sorry, I'm not very good at this." Turning off the stove, Saeran set the pan aside and angled himself towards her.

"Good at what?" Compared to the tender warmth that was in his gaze when he was with Zai, his golden eyes looked dull at the moment.

"I don't know, good at talking to people? Though, I think that I might just be like this with you." He frowned and Jaehee tried not to feel too bad about it. "Then again, I haven't really had to speak with anyone else who I know is romantically interested in my girlfriend besides Zen." He stilled at her words and Jaehee knew that if he could bolt, he would have.

"It's fine, I was prepared for this. When everything's worked out I'll leave you three alon-" She placed her hand on his shoulder before he could finish the sentence and she wondered if he realized that he was crying.

"Please don't." He was trembling in her light grip and Jaehee wished that Zai were there to help. "Although it's somewhat...unorthodox, we've spoken about it, and Zen and I have no aversions to you and Zai, um, _continuing_ with your relationship." His head snapped up and his previously tarnished eyes glowed with hope.

"I- really?" Saeran sounded dazed with relief and some part of her is glad that he and Zai found each other, albeit, she would've preferred under different circumstances. "You're okay with us staying... _us_?" She nodded and he only brightened up further.

"You two seem to be surprisingly good for each other. I'd hate to be the person who gets in the way of Zai's happiness." Finally trusting herself not to drop it, Jaehee picked up the bowl once more and moved to pour the contents into one of the pre-heated pans they'd prepared earlier. "Plus, I don't think she's the only person I know who finds you worthy of affection." At that, they both turned to look at Zen, who was suspiciously quiet the whole time. Upon noticing that he'd been found out, he jumped back into cutting and dicing like he hadn't just been eavesdropping on them.

Jaehee smothered her laughter with a hand while she could hear the soft exhalations from Saeran's own breathy giggling. ' _Yes_ ,' She supposed. ' _Sharing won't be too bad, not when it makes them all so happy._ '

* * *

They'd just finished setting down the plates when both Zai and Seven all but tumbled into the kitchen. Upon seeing Zai, Saeran completely forgot about arranging the cutlery before he was running to her side and sweeping her into a hug, which was rapidly and enthusiastically reciprocated. Seven walked leisurely over to where she and Zen were standing as they watched the two lovers tune out the outside world and lose themselves in each other.

"Heehee, they're really cute together. Are you sure you're not having any second thoughts?" Jaehee shook her head while Zen responded with a definite ' _Nope_ '. "Well...if you say so! As long as you treat my brother fairly." His tone was friendly but she knew that on the inside he must have been deeply worried about his newly-recovered twin. The smug look unfolding on Zen's face had Jaehee expecting the worst.

"Of course we will. After all, anyone who says I have pretty eyes can be trusted!" A sharp laugh came from his side and they all turned to see Zai standing there with Saeran beside her, an arm slung loosely around her waist.

"In that case, every one of your fans must be incredibly honest people, right Jaehee?" Her bright smile made everything seem just a little lighter and Jaehee was reduced to simply nodding in agreement.

"My fans are the most honest people on the planet! It's why my fan club is the best." Before, her mind would have immediately jumped to how dating not one, but three separate people could become a major threat to his public image. But now, she knew that if Zen's fans were true, then they would respect his decisions and be happy for him.

As everyone started taking their place at the table, Jaehee realized that this was the first time she could remember where she was surrounded by people who loved and cared about her. Having Zai and Zen beside her, even with the addition of Saeran, was a blessing to her. For once in her life, she was _content_.

❤︎ Day 18 - 09:44 PM ❤︎

 _POV: ZEN Mode_

The drive back into familiar territory felt longer on the return trip, but at least they weren't taking the car with the _dog_ in it. Jaehee was asleep in the back seat and Zen was barely clinging to consciousness himself, but upon pulling up to the admittedly large gated property in front of them, he forced himself into awareness. Ahead of them, he could see Zai jumping out of her car to unlock the front gate so they could proceed. Parking the cars in front of the building, Zen climbed out of the car and watched as Zai ran back after closing the gate behind them.

"Hey! Tell Seven he can just leave his car here for now. I'll give him the gate key before he leaves." Relaying the message, he looked up in time to see Zai pulling a sleepy Saeran out of her car, accompanied by her jumpy dog, who was bouncing at her heels. While Seven preoccupied himself with extracting Jaehee from his own car, Zen walked over to where Zai was struggling to hold the practically unconscious redhead and control her pet at the same time.

"Need some help?" Upon noticing him standing next to her, he suddenly found himself with his arms full as Saeran was half thrown half dropped into his grasp, forcing Zen to hold him tightly as the other man curled into his chest. "I- uh, Zai?" She took a moment to get her dog under control before turning back to him.

"Sorry! Can you carry him just until we're inside? I can unlock it for you as soon as I tie up Jamming first. I'd let him run around but then he'll get in the way." Tugging on the excitable canine's leash, she led him to the front door and knotted his leash around one of the extravagant posts holding up the canopy above their heads. "Be a good boy and wait here while we unpack, okay?" All she got was a soft woof in response, but that was probably the best she could ask for. Zen watched as she fished her keys out of her pocket before finally opening the door and turning on the light. Stepping inside of the building, Zen definitely wasn't expecting an interior that somehow looked even nicer than the house they'd just left that afternoon.

"Whoa...Zai, you lived here?" There was a wide open sitting room, and Zen carefully deposited Saeran's now-sleeping form on top of the cushions before looking around. "This place is huge..." Zai gave a sharp huff of annoyance.

"Yeah, there's a lot to clean. It's harder to maintain than you'd think." He couldn't help but think that he'd touched a sore spot, but before he could ask about it, Zai was already rushing out the door again to start getting things out of their cars. After giving the mostly-empty house one last glance, Zen followed her with a sigh.

❤︎ Day 18 - 10:29 PM ❤︎

 _POV: 707 Mode_

It took a while for Zen, Zai, and himself to unpack everything from their cars, but once they were finished, Seven couldn't deny that he was feeling antsy. He missed Yoosung and he needed to check in with V and Jumin as well, but he had to make sure that Saeran would be okay first. Thankfully, his brother was currently tucked away in bed. Now he was standing just outside the building, waiting for Zai while she helped Zen put Jaehee to bed as well. He was close to pacing by the time she finally threw the door open, nearly falling on her face. Quickly regaining her footing, she stuck her hand out towards him and Seven reached forward to take the key dangling from her fingers.

"Sorry it took me so long to find the spare key. I haven't needed to use it for a while. You can keep it, though, I'll just get another one made." He nodded and turned to leave but was thrown off balance as Zai pulled him into an abrupt hug.

"Wh- Zai? Haha, this is new." Although he'd been getting better at it, he still wasn't used to sudden displays of physical affection, and Zai was the last person he'd ever expect to hug him like this. He was about to try and pull away when he heard her sharp breaths. "H-hey, are you okay?" When she looked up at him, her eyes were dry but full of gratitude.

"I'm sorry- I'm just- _thank you_ , Luciel." Her words sent a jolt up his spine and he tentatively reciprocated her hug. "Thank you for bringing us back together..." He inhaled quickly and gave the woman in his arms a soft squeeze.

"I should be thanking you for that too. Just promise you'll look after my brother while he's here?" Nodding determinedly, she finally withdrew her arms from around his midsection.

"I'll take good care of him. Please give everyone else my regards and tell them I'll see them soon."

"Yeah, sure. It's good to have you back, Zai." He smiled and waved at her while bounding down the steps on the way back to his car. Just as he was climbing in, he managed to catch her shouted reply.

"It's good to _be back_!"

* * *

 _707 has joined the chat room._

/ **Jumin Han** : Ah, Luciel. You've returned. /

/ **Jumin Han** : Hopefully with Zai? /

/ **707** : Yup! /

/ **707** : And I bet you can't guess who else I brought home with me! /

/ **Jumin Han** : I'm not even going to ask. /

/ **707** : Aww... /

/ **707** : Oh well! Doesn't matter anyway. /

/ **707** : You'll be meeting him soon enough! /

/ **Jumin Han** : Luciel... /

/ **707** : Right, right. /

/ **707** : It's serious time. /

/ **707** : I got Yoosung's messages. /

/ **707** : How is V doing? /

/ **Jumin Han** : Someone tried to break into his hospital room the other night./

/ **707** : Whoa, what? /

/ **707** : Is he okay? /

/ **Jumin Han** : Yes, but I am assigning extra guards to the room. /

/ **Jumin Han** : I will also be staying with him until we are sure there will not be a repeat offense. /

/ **707** : That's understandable. /

/ **707** : You want me to look into it? /

/ **Jumin Han** : That would be much appreciated. /

/ **Jumin Han** : Speaking of Yoosung, /

/ **Jumin Han** : He's still at my penthouse at the C&R Building. /

/ **707** : What!? /

/ **707** : You just left my cutie on his own all day? /

/ **707** : Without anyone there to comfort him!? /

/ J **umin Han** : Now that you mention it... /

/ 707: You could have at least let him borrow a car to go back to his dorm! /

/ **Jumin Han** : Yes, yes, I understand. /

/ **Jumin Han** : I'll forward you the security code for the building so you can go get him. /

/ **707** : You want me to take him back tonight? /

/ **707** : I've been driving all day ;;; /

/ **707** : Can't I do that tomorrow? /

/ **Jumin Han** : Fine. Just don't touch Elizabeth the 3rd. /

/ **707** : Me? I would Never! /

/ **Jumin Han** : **Luciel.** /

/ **707** : Yeep! /

/ **707** : Instructions understood Mista Trust Fund Kid, Sir! /

/ **707** : I'll drop by with everyone tomorrow. /

/ **707** : Give V my regards! /

/ **Jumin Han** : I shall. /

/ **Jumin Han** : Have a good night, Luciel. /

/ **707** : I will as soon as I get to see my cutie again~ /

/ **707** : Bye bye! /

 _707 has left the chat room._

* * *

Looking into darkened room, Seven stealthily crept along the plush carpet floor of Jumin's guest room. Upon reaching the bedside, he noticed Yoosung's sleeping form. He was curled up tightly with the sheets thrown everywhere, his adorable LOLOL patterned pajama top was riding up on his midsection, revealing a tiny expanse of smooth skin. Shedding his jacket and dropping it on the floor, he carefully climbed on top of the mattress and let his hand rest over his boyfriend's waist. Nuzzling his face into bleached-blond hair, he sighed with contentment as Yoosung shifted back in his sleep, subconsciously trying to fit himself in Seven's arms. Although he'd have to be up and working again tomorrow, for now, V was being looked after by Jumin, and his brother was safe with Zai, Jaehee, and Zen. He could relax for a moment.

Just for tonight, with his arms around his lover, he was _home_.

* * *

AN: Before you ask, yes there will be a sequel to this fic. Unfortunately, I don't know when it'll be up. It will definitely be shorter than this fic though. I've got some other plans for fics I'd love to write too ;^;

If you want to talk to me about MM (or my fanfics, please, I will scream with joy), I have a Mystic Messenger blog at 'saeranspancakes' on Tumblr! I'd love to be able to talk more about this AU as well as my other's and share HCs ~

Once again, thank you so much for joining me on this adventure, and I hope to see you all again next time!


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